The Good People
by TooApatheticToCare
Summary: Red and gold never decorated his world. Harry Potter, sorted into Slytherin house, tried to find his way through the wizarding world with what friends he could gather, fighting prejudice at every corner. An eventual Harry/Ginny story with Slytherin friends.
1. Prologue

_Prologue: Let us begin towards the end._

 _How did it come to this?_ Dumbledore stared at the girl before him, her long red hair obscuring her face as she sat, bound and motionless, at his feet. She hadn't moved from her position for several hours. At first, she had kicked and screamed as she was dragged into the Order Of the Phoenix holding cell. She was almost as deadly without a wand as she was with one, as Dumbledore's bloodied troops could attest to, but now, she sat as silent as the dead, only the steady clenching and unclenching of her bound fists alerting him that she was still conscious.

"Your parents have been very worried about you." Dumbledore said finally, voice loud in the unforgiving silence of the cell. The girl before him made no move to respond, showing no sign that she had heard his words. "What you have done… What your people are still doing, it has torn your family apart, not to mention others, your mother-" the girl didn't look up, but laughed from where she sat, the first sound she had made in several hours. Dumbledore briefly let his mind flicker to the girl at eleven, wide eyed with a hopeless crush on a boy who she had never spoken to. A girl who would've been terrified to see what she had become. "You have hurt innocent people in these years." he said, his voice so tired, "Good people." The girl drummed her fingers against the floor gently.

"Good people," she murmured, contemplative, "Good people that condemn children? That leave my friends bloodied and broken on the battlefield? Yes…" she paused, "I suppose I have killed good people." she laughed again, and Dumbledore felt his age upon his shoulders, they had been fighting so long, he could hardly remember a time when his world wasn't torn apart by war.

"Why are you here, Ms Weasley?" he asked suddenly, "I don't suppose you actually got captured, did you? With your track record, you could have taken out every official we sent for you, so, why are you here?" Ginevra Weasley's hands stilled in their movement.

"Clever little man!" She said, brown eyes almost black as she looked up at him for the first time. There was a hint of amusement in her gaze that Dumbledore recognised having seen in the eyes of her twin brother's, "I thought you might catch on eventually. No, I wasn't 'captured'." Her face glowed eerily in the dim light, the pale shadow of a scar running down her left cheek as she smiled up at him, sharp white teeth flashing, "I should really be thanking your for your kind invitation into your headquarters, this journey has been very enlightening."

"We found all of the tracking devices you had on your person, this cell is warded against apparition, Portkeys and any other form of travel you could think of. I think your plan may have fallen flat, Ms Weasley." Dumbledore said, but already he could feel a sense of foreboding creeping into his bones.

"For someone so 'wise'" she spat out the adjective like an insult, "you know so little, old man." As she spoke, her wrists began to glow, the ropes holding her crumbling into nothing, before the cell wall behind her exploded with a crash, and all hell began to rain down upon the Order of the Phoenix.

Ginevra Weasley stepped away from Dumbledore, arms wide as she tumbled backwards, free falling for a few blissful seconds, before an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close.

"You stink." came her hero's mutter into her hair, Ginny laughed,

"You try being locked away in a tiny cell for hours on end." Harry laughed at that and the sky flashed with lightening as he swooped in a loop through the sky, broom an extension of his limbs. She laughed in joy before asking,

"Shall we join the others?" nodding towards the flashing lights and shrieks now resonating from the Order building,

"Of course, my love, don't want them to have all the fun!" Harry said, before he swooped into the building, passing her her wand with a flourish, the two most wanted criminals of the wizarding world ran down to fight alongside their friends, in a battle that would go down in History books and be remembered for years to come…

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 **Ok, So that was the prologue. I know it was really short, and all of my future chapters will be significantly longer then this. I Will be posting updates every few days and plan on putting the dates for my next update at the end of each chapter. Please read and review! The next update will be either today or tomorrow, depending on how fast I type.**

 **I LOVE REVIEWS, please give them!**


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world and soon-to-be-student of Hogwarts school, fell asleep on the Hogwarts express. Upon claiming the first empty compartment he could find, he quickly got changed, before, with an exhausted sigh, he slumped in the corner, propping his feet up on his trunk, and drifted into oblivion. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind of excitement and anticipation, he had read through all of his text books and was eager to practise the magic he had read about. Even his dreams were filled with bright lights and wand-waving. He only awoke from his slumber as the train ground to a halt, as his eyes flickered open, a gangly boy with red hair, who had evidently sat in his compartment, disappeared through the door, lugging his trunk behind him. Harry stumbled to his feet, shaking off his drowsiness before following.

The train platform they got off at was loud with excited chatter as people caught sight of friends they hadn't seen on the train, the hubbub was reassuring and Harry heard a voice bellowing,

"First years, over here!" Following the voice, Harry finally glimpsed his fellow first years, who stood crowded around a man harry recognised as-

"Hagrid!" he exclaimed, grinning up at the man who had first introduced him to the wizarding world, the giant of a man smiled at him, beetle black eyes twinkling merrily,

"Alright there, Harry?" he asked, before returning to his bellowing of "First years, over here!" once he had everyone rounded up, he called, "Four to a boat, everyone, in you get." Harry glanced around, searching for an empty boat when a hand clasped his arm,

"So it's true." came a drawling voice, Harry met the cool blue eyes of a boy about his hight, with slicked back blonde hair, he was looking at him with an inquisitive gaze, "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Harry felt uncomfortable as people around them began to whisper, but the blonde boy seemed unperturbed, "Come sit with us." he said, not exactly a command, but not a question either. Harry wasn't experienced with other kids, Dudley always driving any potential playmates away, but even he recognised an offer of friendship when he saw one.

"Sure," he said, "But could I ask your name?" the blonde boy smirked, casting an oddly smug look at the redheaded boy who had been in Harry's train compartment.

"Draco Malfoy." he said, before turning and gesturing for Harry to follow him onto a boat, "Oh," he said as an afterthought, "This is Crabbe, and that's Goyle." he gestured to the two boys standing slightly behind him, who nodded at the introduction. Behind them, the redheaded boy scoffed, "Find something funny?" Draco snapped, eyes looking the boy up and down as a sneer overtook his features, "No need to ask who you are, red hair… and hand-me-down robes, you must be a Weasley." the boy flushed as Malfoy turned to Harry once more, "Some wizards aren't worth your time, Harry." he smiled cheerfully, "I can show you the right sort." Harry shrugged, recalling that mere days ago, he didn't have a single friend to his name.

"Thanks, I guess…" he said, sitting down on the boat that Crabbe and Goyle had already sat aboard, Malfoy sat next to him, clearly put in a good mood by the altercation. The red haired boy glared at them, clambering into a boat beside a boy with a round face and a girl with curly hair who was talking very fast. The boy's glare made Harry vaguely uncomfortable, yet the boat ride passed without incident, the four boys falling silent as the large castle came into view. The building was magnificent, with flickering lights illuminating the twisting towers and sharp angles, making it look like something out of a storybook. As they got off the boat, Draco turned to Harry,

"I never asked," he said, as though surprised with his own forgetfulness, "What house do you want to end up in?" Harry shrugged, having not given it much thought. The boy rolled his eyes, "Well _I_ hope I end up in Slytherin, home to the cunning and ambitious." he smiled once more, "It's where my father went." Harry nodded, he didn't know much about the other houses, finding 'Hogwarts, a History' to be too bland to bother with.

"What are the other houses known for?" he asked, Draco sneered,

"Gryffindor is the home of those who have more brains then brains, they never think situations through, Ravenclaws are pretty bookish and spend most of their time in the library, and Hufflepuff…" the boy scoffed, "I think I'd just leave if I was sorted there." Harry nodded, running a hand through his dark hair as he thought about the different houses, _what if I don't belong in any of them?_ he wondered, heart beginning to pound, _what if this all turns out to be a big mistake and I'm sent back to the Dursley's?_ The panic began to swell in his chest and Harry glanced at his friend, the boy was leaning against a wall, causal as could be, with his hands resting in his robe pockets, he was visibly relaxed. Harry felt a flicker of envy, how could he be so unafraid? _Unless he wasn't?_ Harry glanced at his friend again, taking in the slight paleness of his cheeks, and the steady tapping his foot made on the floor. The boy, now he was looking, didn't seem relaxed at all, he was just _composed._ Harry straightened his back, forcing down his fear enough to remove it from his facial features, Draco glanced at him and smirked, "I get the feeling that I'll see you in Slytherin." Harry grinned back at the apparent compliment. He opened his mouth to respond when the clicking of heels interrupted them, they looked up to see a stern faced woman, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her eyes flickered across the children before she spoke, her voice cold and uniform

"Hello everyone, My name is Professor McGonagall, *** welcome to Hogwarts," she said "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

 **"** The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her eyes lingered for a moment on a plump boy's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Weasley's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.

'I will return when we are ready for you,' said Professor McGonagall *******

As she walked from the room Draco leaned forwards, and whispered conspiratorially,

"Father says she was a Gryffindor. Holds a strong bias towards her own house, that one. My father says it's best to steer clear of her." Harry nodded in response, before asking,

"How do they decide what house we go to anyway?" Malfoy's eyes lit up, and he once again began to whisper,

"Well, it's a secret, but I've heard they have a sorting-"

"My brother says we have to fight a troll." Weasley blurted out, voice loud as he looked around, reddening at the ears as everyone paid him their full attention, "We have to fight the troll and they decide what house we go into depending on how we deal with it." The first years began to panic, one girl, with wild curly hair and large front teeth began to furiously mutter all of the spells she could think of, which was an irritatingly high amount, Harry felt his stomach lurch.

"Bravo Weasley, you got it, we have to fight a troll." Malfoy said, voice oddly bright, before he turned to Harry and snickered,

"A troll, honestly… The Weasleys get dumber every year. It's a _hat."_ Harry blinked at him,

"A hat?" he repeated, disbelievingly. His new friend nodded,

"You just put on a hat, and it tells you were you belong." Malfoy seemed proud of his revelation, and Harry nodded appreciatively.

"Let's not let Weasley in on that titbit of information." he said, glancing at the redhead who looked vaguely sick at the challenge ahead. Malfoy patted him on the back.

"Starting to think like a Slytherin, my friend." as the words left the boy's mouth several ghosts slid through the walls talking cheerfully as they did so, causing Harry to let out an undignified squeak, and Draco shook his head despairingly, "Never mind…" He grumbled. The clicking of heels on the cold stone floor alerted them to Professor McGonagall's return. She shoed away the ghosts with some harsh words before turning to the children.

"Follow me." she said, before turning and walking down the corridor from which she had just came, Harry and Draco exchanged grins before following. They were lead into a giant hall, the ceiling flashed with lightening above them.

"It's enchanted to look like the night sky." the bushy haired girl whispered to her companion, who nodded distractedly. The professor turned to them once more.

"I will call out your name, and you will place the hat on your head. It will inform you of where you belong, allowing you to go and sit with your housemates. Remain here until I call you." She then walked to the centre of the hall, standing beside a large old hat sitting upon a rickety wooden stall. "Abbot, Hannah" she called, and so the sorting began. Harry paid little attention to the sorting allowing his mind wander to all of the terrible scenarios that could occur. The hat could just sit on his head, not saying a word for hours, before they decided that he wasn't a wizard _after all._ It was only when "Malfoy, Draco" was called, that Harry tuned back into the sorting. The hat barely touched his head before it bellowed,

"Slytherin!" the boy leapt from his seat, casting a nod in Harry's direction before sliding into a reserved space next to Crabbe and Goyle on the Slytherin table. He patted the empty space to his right, silently letting Harry know he was saving him a seat, and causing him to grin happily. Harry felt his nerves fade, he had _magic,_ he knew he did. A tap on the shoulder returned him to reality.

"I didn't want to say anything before," it was the read headed boy, Weasley, "But Malfoy is a bad sort, Slytherin is the house where dark lords come from, including," Weasley leaned forwards, "You know who…" Harry glared at him, Draco had been nothing but nice to him, and was his first friend in the wizarding world, he wasn't going to let some boy talk down about him because of some petty school rivalry.

"Get lost Weasley." he snapped, "I can make my own decisions." the boy's cheeks coloured and he stepped back,

"Suit yourself, Potter." the boy said, voice irritated, "I was just trying to warn you."

"Well I don't need your help." Harry muttered back, "I am perfectly capable-"

"Potter, Harry" came Mcgonagall's call, and Harry extracted himself from the conversation with a dark look in Weasley's direction. He strode to the stool, clenching his fists angrily. The professor lifted the hat and dropped it upon his head. Before it had even sunk over his eyes, it boomed,

"Slytherin!" and Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world, went to sit beside Draco Malfoy with a smirk on his face.

Dinner went without incident. It was decided within moments that Albus Dumbledore was deranged, and Snape had a frightening death glare, but besides that, nothing of value occurred. The Slytherin first years were lead to their common room by the head boy and girl, two imposing figures who seemed to tower over them, they were lead them own several spiralling staircases, all the while, keeping up a steady commentary of the different features of the castle.

"Best be careful on the stairs," commented the head girl, "They like to move around."

"Also," added the head boy, as he jumped the second last step, "some of them catch your leg, like that one, so watch out." the following first years leapt over the step, letting out appreciative 'oohs' and 'ahhs' at the sights.

"All of the portraits talk." the head girl spoke again, nodding towards several motionless portraits, that, upon being revealed, waved merrily in the student's direction, "and they like to gossip, so try not to have important discussions in front of them"

Eventually they came to a halt, after walking down what felt like hundreds of flights of stairs. Harry had to fight to remain standing, he was so tired, and beside him, Draco was swaying on his feet.

"Here we have the entrance to our common room!" said the head boy, gesturing dramatically to the large, unimpressive looking wall standing before them. "You have to know the password, which changes every two weeks." Crabbe let out a large yawn, eyes half closed, spurring the head boy into faster action, "Serpent." he spoke again, and with a loud grinding noise, the wall slid to the side, revealing a grand looking room bathed in dark greens and blacks. Large windows stretched across the walls, revealing the murky depths of what had to be the lake. Something dark drifted by one of the windows, and the first years rushed to press their hands against the glass, exhaustion momentarily forgotten. The head girl clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention back to them.

"We will show you to your dormitories, but first we need to get a few things straight with you. The rules of Slytherin house are strict, and those who do not follow them will be punished accordingly. Number One: There is no fighting between housemates, if you do have a dispute with a fellow house member, keep it within the common room, to the rest of the school we must show a unified front. Rule Number Two: stay away from blood related insults outside of these walls, whatever you believe about muggleborns," the way the head girl said it left no imagination to how _she_ felt, "keep it to yourself, it gives us a bad name. Which brings us onto our third rule, don't fall behind, your grades must be better then the other houses, we will not accept slackers. We are not Ravenclaws, but we have a work ethic and we take pride in our results." She glared at the first years, as though daring them to do badly, and the head boy laughed at their nervous expressions before saying,

"Girls, your dormitory is the first floor on the right, boys, you're in the first floor on the left. No boys in the girls dorms and vice versa. You will meet us here at eight o'clock to be escorted to breakfast tomorrow morning, now get to bed, you all look dead on your feet.

The large four poster beds were awe inspiring, yet Harry barely had enough energy to pull off his robes before he fell asleep, unconscious before his head had even hit the pillow. It was the best nights sleep he had had in a long time.

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 **Ok, so that's the first chapter, I know it's a little bit late, but it took ages! I started on the** **train ride because everything occurred according to cannon up until then. I'm in love with Draco/Harry friendship, and I hope you guys like it too. There will be more Slytherin characters coming into play in the next Chapter, and Ginny won't appear until Harry's summer holidays.**

 **Please review, I LOVE REVIEWS**

 **thanks for reading!**

 **Next update: 21st-22nd of June**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

The sun filtered through the windows of the Slytherin boy's dormitories in watery rays. Harry blearily opened his eyes, half expecting to once again be locked in the confines of his cupboard and realise it had all been a wonderful dream, but was instead graced with the sight of dark green and silver curtains, and the sound of his steadily snoring room mates. Harry glanced to his left, where Draco slept, only to be surprised at the sight of the bed empty. He clambered from his bed, glancing at the old watch he had stolen from Dudley. It was barely six in the morning. He let out a yawn and stretched, hearing his back crack satisfyingly. He grabbed a towel out of his trunk, along with some clean robes, before heading down to where he vaguely recalled the bathrooms were. The room was large, with green tiles and six shower cubicles lined up in a military manner, one of them was occupied, presumably by Draco. Harry stepped into one of the cubicles, hanging his robes and towel over the door before turning on the shower. The hot water hit him instantly, loosening very muscle in his body. Harry tilted his head back and allowed the water to trickle across his face, all the while pondering what type of _magic_ they would be learning today, the idea still sent waves of excitement through his body, the novelty of being in a school for sorcery having yet to wear off.

A long while later, Harry dried himself down, before tugging on his robes. Stepping out of the cubicle, he noted that Draco must have finished already, and grinned, running a hand through his wet hair, which still managed to look wild and messy. He practically bounced down the corridor back to his room before stopping at the door and rearranging his face into something less exuberant. Stepping into the room, he saw Crabbe and Goyle, clearly having just awoken, ambling in the direction of the door he had just entered. Draco lay sprawled on his bed, reading a book on potions quietly. He looked up at Harry as he approached and said casually,

"Professor Snape, my godfather, likes to pick one student at the beginning of each year to spring a pop quiz on. It's rarely a Slytherin, but best try and revise before our first lesson anyway." Harry nodded in answer, then jumped as the curtains behind him sprang open, revealing a boy who was already fully dressed, leaving Harry to wonder how early he must have been up in order to shower without anyone noticing.

"It's not like you have anything to worry about, Malfoy." the boy said, a smirk adorning his features. He had dark curly hair and heavily lidded eyes which were appraising as he looked upon his two housemates, "Snape adores you." Malfoy's face, which had been relatively open when talking to Harry, closed off.

"And you are?" he asked, voice turning back into the drawl that Harry recognised from when Draco was dealing with Weasley. The boy extended a hand lazily,

"Blaise Zabini, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Draco's eyes flitted to Harry briefly, who shrugged, before he leaned forwards and accepted the boy's handshake.

"I guess I don't need to introduce myself then." he said, voice carefully neutral. Harry watched, fascinated at the subtle politics playing out in front of him, before the boy turned to him, dark eyes making him feel as though he was under a magnifying glass. He fought down his discomfort, maintaining a blank face and following his friend's lead.

"And Harry Potter." the boy said, eyes remaining on his face, without a flicker of a glance towards his scar, "It seems I'm in a room with two pretty public figures. An interesting choice of friends you've made here, Potter." Harry felt, rather then saw Draco tense from his bed, and internally struggled between asking why his choice in friends was 'interesting' and maintaining the facade of neutrality evidently so popular amongst his housemates. In the end he decided on the latter, making a note to question Malfoy on the boy's words later.

"Indeed." he said, noncommittally, "It seems that I'm not meeting a lot of people's expectations in this school." he accepted the boy's hand, tightening his grip slightly. The boy nodded, accepting his response, and Harry's glance to the left showed that Draco had relaxed from his position, and was pretending to be reading his potions book once more. Suddenly the curtains burst open once more, but there was less of an intentional dramatic flair then that of Blaise Zabini, as a boy toppled from bed, blue eyes wide in panic.

"What time is it?" he yelped, Harry glanced at his watch,

"Half past seven." he said, the boy let out a yelp, grabbing his stuff from his trunk and sprinting down to the bathroom. The three remaining occupants stared in bemused silence at the boy's retreating form, before Blaise said,

"Well then…" Draco shrugged, still trying to give the impression of reading. Harry wandered over to his trunk, grabbing his own potions book and settling onto his bed. Zabini, who had watched the movement attentively, settled on his own bed, casually using his wand to make casual swirls of smoke. Harry tried to fight the urge to ask him how he was doing his trick, and felt Draco trying not to give into the temptation too. Harry was the first to break,

"How do you do that?" he asked, and Blaise looked up, evidently satisfied at the attention,

"Magic." he said simply, Harry scowled, and Malfoy snorted slightly, the boy grinned, "I'll show you how, if you want." he said, "On one condition, you call me Blaise." Draco was watching, blue eyes riveted to the scene,

"Fine." said Harry, wondering if there was something he was missing in the use of a first name, "If you call me Harry." Blaise nodded, relaxing from where he sat, Draco leaned forwards,

"Same rules apply for me, Zabini?" he asked, an unusual flicker of hesitation showing on his face, the boy nodded, Draco grinned, "Then I'm in."

Blaise leaned forwards, and began to explain how to do the trick. Before long, Crabbe and Goyle returned, the other boy, who's name Harry had yet to learn, tailing closely behind them. They finally made their way down to the common room, fortunately on the dot of eight. The head boy and girl nodded appreciatively at them, though the girls were already there. They once again travelled through a maze of stairways until they were finally outside the great hall. As they walked towards their table, Harry muttered to Draco,

"What's the significance of calling someone by their first name?" The boy seemed to choke on air, coughing, before spluttering to Harry,

"How can you not know? That's like one of the most basic parts of Pureblood tradition!" Harry blinked, feeling, if possible, more lost then before,

"Pureblood tradition?" he asked, Draco gaped at him,

"Were you raised by muggles or something?" he asked incredulously, "Surely your guardians must have taught you _something_ about your heritage?!" Harry had fallen silent, and Draco paled drastically, "You…" he cleared his throat, "You _weren't_ raised by muggles, were you?" Harry didn't answer, feeling a flush creep up his neck for reasons he couldn't explain. Draco blanched, "Blimey, I made friends with a _muggle lover_!" his voice went high, "father is going to _kill_ me."

"I'm not a muggle lover!" Harry cried indignantly, whilst trying to maintain a whisper. They slid into their seats at the lunch table, "My aunt and uncle were horrendous people!"

"Muggles aren't people!" Draco hissed back.

"I'm inclined to agree with you!" Harry said. Whilst he didn't really harbour much hatred towards muggles in general, the thought of loosing his first friend, as well as his deep loathing for his family members fuelled his words, "Look," he said, "If me being raised by muggles puts you off being my friend, fine, _Malfoy,_ " Harry emphasised the use of the boy's surname before he continued, "But I don't like muggles any more then you do, and while I may not know anything about pureblood traditions, I am willing to learn. Besides, it's not like there's not stuff _you're_ not telling _me,_ what did Blaise mean when he said that you were an unusual choice in a friend, anyway?" Draco opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed to speak,

"Look, Potter… _Harry,_ If you'll still let me call you that, I didn't mean to offend you, my father just raised me with a proper sense of disgust towards muggles, my disgust doesn't extend to you, and if you're willing, I could lend you books on pureblood tradition." at Harry's short nod, he continued, "As for what Blaise said," Draco coughed uncomfortably, "there are some people, who claim that my father worked for… You Know Who during the war. Obviously, my father was under the imperious curse, which forces people to do things against their will, but bad reputations stick, and Blaise was referencing that you might hold my father, and thus, me, accountable for what happened in the war." Harry nodded slowly, computing what the boy had said,

"Thank you for being honest with me, I guess." Harry said, spooning an egg onto his plate before beginning to eat, "What does it mean to call someone by their first name?" Draco grinned at the change of topic, relieved that the brief spat was over,

"It's a sign of trust, it's basically your way of saying that if Blaise is in trouble, and you are able to intervene, then you will do it." Harry nodded, thoughtfully,

"So, like, a sign of friendship?" Draco smirked at him,

"Friendship is such a Hufflepuff word, dear Harry. We prefer the term, 'allies'" Harry rolled his eyes.

"I think we're friends Draco, Slytherin or not." the boy laughed, bouncing back with a single word response of,

"allies"

"friends." Came Harry's witty repertoire,

"allies."

"friends." The two boys went on for several minutes in such a manner, before dissolving into giggles almost unbefitting two eleven year old boys. Though neither said it both were relieved at having avoided the loss of their first friend in the wizarding world.

"Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy." A cold voice interrupted their laughter, and they looked up, startled, Professor Snape towered over them, dark hair falling like a curtain on either side of his carefully blank face.

"Uncle Sev!" Draco exclaimed quietly, the man's facial expression didn't change, but his eyes almost imperceptibly softened,

"I have told you not to call me that on school premises, Mr Malfoy." Professor Snape said, Draco grinned brightly,

"But classes haven't started yet!" he wheedled, blue eyes wide and imploring. Harry watched the interaction with interest, when suddenly Snape met his gaze darkly,

"Have something to say, _Potter?"_ The man barked, all softness gone from his facial features. Harry flinched in surprise,

"No Sir." He said nervously, Draco was looking at his godfather in bafflement, but a warning look from the man stopped him from saying anything,

"How you managed to get into the house of the cunning and ambitious is beyond me, _Potter_." the man said, voice cold, "But I expect you to represent Slytherin as best you can, nonetheless. While you will never reach the level of others in your peer group," Snape's eyes flickered to Draco, who was pale and reproachful under the man's gaze, "You will _not_ embarrass our house, or the repercussions will be severe." With these words, the man handed both boys their schedules, before walking further down the table, cloak swishing behind him as he went.

"What in the name of Merlin was that all about?" breathed Draco, "I've never seen him act like that with anyone before." Harry merely shrugged, scowling slightly before digging back into his food without comment, Draco watched the retreating form of his Godfather for several more moments, before he too returned to eating. Harry glanced at his schedule and let out a quiet curse,

"First class is potions, any guesses as to who's going to be getting that pop quiz?" he asked, smiling slightly. Draco snorted, before the two of them, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, grabbed their things and headed in the direction of Potions.

The two boys slid into seats next to each other without comment, and watched silently as their classmates gradually filed in. Weasley, the red headed boy from the day before, scowled in their direction, but passed no comment, which was probably a good thing, as both boys were too riled up from the incident with Snape to not leap at an opportunity to argue, Harry pulled out his books, and laid them on the table, Draco following suit, before Snape billowed into the classroom like a dark cloud of destruction.

"Wands away." he snapped, *** "There will be no foolish wand waving in this class.I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." silence followed the speech, the first years stared at the man, enraptured, when suddenly, "Potter!" the barked shout made Harry jump, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" _called it_ , Harry though to himself, he shut his eyes, and tried to remember the answer, he had read it literally _that morning_ , but Blaise had been doing the cool trick with the smoke, and he'd been distracted and- _got it._

"Is it a sleeping potion, sir?" Harry asked, the man opened his mouth to respond, and Harry blurted, as the name came to him, "the Draft of Living Death!" he smiled slightly at his recall of the fact. The potions professor's expression, if anything, darkened at his minor victory,

"Impressive Potter, you managed to read the first page of the potions text book, would you like a trophy?" Harry's ears burned, and he heard Weasley snickering behind him, "How about another question?" the man said, voice cold, "where might I look in order to find a bezoar?" Harry had no idea, beside him , he heard Draco mutter the answer, loud enough for him to hear, but something told him if cheated off Draco, Snape would know, and things would be much worse for him,

"I don't know sir." the man's lip curled, a clear victory,

"Tut, tut, clearly, fame isn't everything…" the man said, dark eyes cruelly mocking as he glared upon the student. Harry swallowed, hard, the embarrassment from the situation was creeping up his neck, dip dying him red, "one more, Potter." the man said, voice saccharine, "What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

Whilst Harry would never be the best at potions, nor had his upbringing trained him in any way for the wizarding world, there was one thing, that from a young age, he was taught to do by his aunt, and that was gardening. Threats of food deprivation, cupboard time and the occasional swing of a saucepan had ingrained some basic knowledge into the boy's head, he looked up at the potions professor in surprise,

"Do you mean Aconite?" he asked, brow furrowing, "aren't they the same thing?" Snape blinked, startled that the boy knew the answer to his last question, before he said snappily,

"Correct, Mr Potter. Two out of three, not bad." the man nodded reluctantly before he said, "The bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat and can cure you from most poisons. Now, why aren't you copying this down?" the last question was short and angry, and was followed by the rushing of students to grab their quills and parchment, the man walked between the tables, peering over students shoulders in an intimidating manner, before he began to write up instructions on the board. "This," he said, gesturing to the chalk-written words, "Is a boil removing potion, you will work with the person seated next to you and I expect it to be completed before the lesson is over, if you do not succeed, then an essay on the why you failed will be on my desk by tomorrow morning, am I understood?" there was a gentle murmuring of agreement from around the classroom, before Snape spoke again, "Potter, Thomas, switch places." Harry and Draco looked up in surprise,

"Why?" Draco blurted out, cheeks colouring at the un-Slytherin like comment, Snape cast a filthy look in the boy's direction,

"I feel it is best to put the two… hazardous students in a pair together, to avoid any unnecessary casualties." Harry scowled, and looked around to see who 'Thomas' was and who he was working with. A boy in Gryffindor robes was grabbing his stuff with a unhappy, (if slightly relieved) look on his face, and as he moved, Harry caught sight of his new potions partner. The boy was slightly plump, with large brown eyes and brown hair that fell around his face neatly. Harry vaguely recognised him from the boat ride to school, he had been with _Weasley._ Harry frowned slightly, before shrugging and grabbing his things. He slid into the empty seat next to the boy, who was staring at the table, his fists clenched. At first, Harry thought he was angry at Harry's placement, and was pointedly ignoring him to be rude, then he noticed the tremors going up the boy's body. He felt a wave of pity rush through him, the boy was _terrified._

"Hey," he said quietly, "Are you okay?" the boy glanced at him, eyes wide and anxious, before he nodded slightly,

"I'm fine." he mumbled cheeks dark and still trembling slightly, Harry extended his hand,

"My name's Harry Potter, nice to meet you." he said, smiling slightly, in an attempt to ease the boy into their partnership. The boy glanced at him suspiciously, evidently looking for some trick in his friendly demeanour, eventually, he decided it was safe, and shook the boy's hand,

"I'm Neville Longbottom." he said, "You're more friendly then I expected you to be." Harry's brow furrowed,

"Because I'm Harry Potter?" he asked, confusedly, "do we have some kind of feud or something because this pureblood stuff is really-"

"No!" Neville yelped, surprised, "because you're Slytherin, you guys are meant to hate Gryffindors…" Harry blinked, baffled,

"We are?" Neville nodded, and Harry shrugged,

"I guess I didn't get the memo, I didn't know much about the different houses until yesterday, to be honest. Everything's a bit overwhelming, like there are all these _rules_ , about names and stuff, and if I, like, accidentally call you by your first name or something and you get offended, let me know, because it's unintentional, I just don't know much about these traditions and stuff so-" Neville was blinking at him, eyes wide as Harry allowed himself to drift away into ramble-land.

"You can call me Neville if you want…" he said, voice quiet, "Not everyone uses pureblood traditions anymore anyway, but you have my permission to use my first name, if you want- that is." Harry grinned,

"Thanks, Neville, call me Harry." the boy then glanced at the clock, "We better get started, how about you go get the ingredients we need, and I'll start dealing with the ones we already have?" Neville nodded in response to the suggestion, before clambering to his feet and walking to the store cupboard. He had struggled to make friends in his house, all of them lively and talkative, none very interested in the quiet boy who sat in the corner. Briefly, he wondered what would have been different if he had allowed the hat to sort him into Slytherin, as it had pushed for; would he already be close with Harry and his friends? He shook off the thought, the image of his grandmother flitting into his mind, her anger at the mere suggestion that the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom wouldn't go to Gryffindor, nonetheless, a faint smile rested on his lips as he gathered the materials necessary.

Unknown to either boy, Professor Snape watched them intently. Potter was different to what he expected, the fact he was sorted into Slytherin was proof enough of that, and the manner in which he dealt with the Longbottom boy was not an approach James Potter would have tried, no, definitely not. If anything, the soft manner in which Harry dealt with the shy boy was more akin to a girl who Snape had known a long time ago, with fiery red hair, and green eyes just like the ones that stared at him from behind those Potter glasses.

By the end of the lesson, surprisingly, there were no accidents, a rarity in Snape's potions classes. The Professor had genuinely expected Longbottom and Potter's potion to explode, with an amusingly painful result, yet, much to his disappointment, his dreams were to remain unfulfilled. As he dismissed the class, delightedly informing Weasley that he was expecting an essay the next morning, Potter barely glanced his way, choosing instead to talk with Longbottom as they left, however, much to Snape's displeasure, Draco gave him a look of pure venom as he passed, before running to catch up with Harry, who politely made introductions between him and Longbottom. As Snape shut his door, he wondered whether or not he had made a slight mistake in the manner that he had dealt with the Potter child, before dismissing the thought. It was _James Potter's son_ , and clearly, the child was just as much of an arrogant, bullying toe rag as his father was. Snape reassured himself with this thought, whilst he struggled to remove the image of those green eyes staring up at him reproachfully from behind large black frames.

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked that. There will be distinct changed from Canon as the series progresses, so I hope this isn't too much of a rehash for you guys, I swear it will get more interesting.**

 **The next update** **will be between the 21st and 22nd.**

 **Please leave reviews, you know I love them!**


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

If Blaise Zabini was cool, suave and organised (which he was), then Theodore Nott was his polar opposite. Even Harry, who hadn't known anything about being Slytherin upon his joining the house, was aware that the fair-haired boy stuck out like a sore thumb. Whilst seemingly well versed in pureblood traditions, never referring to anyone by their first name and mostly keeping to himself, the boy seemed to have an air of messiness about him. His fair hair was always falling over his face, items were always toppling from his hands and his tie was never straight, even his smile was crooked.

"Honestly," Draco sneered one evening, "why is he not in Hufflepuff? It's not like he actually belongs in Slytherin, we're the house of the cunning, after all." Crabbe and Goyle snickered from where they were sitting behind Draco, though Harry was pretty sure they laughed at everything the boy said, funny or not. Harry, who was lounging beside Draco on one of the plush arm chairs, didn't bother to comment, focusing on the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans which he was currently rooting through, only looking up when he heard a sharp intake of breath. Theodore Nott's retreating back was the only sign that he had heard Draco's words. Said boy looked slightly uncomfortable, shifting in his seat to watch the boy exit, before shrugging slightly and glancing at Harry, "Got any toffee ones?" he asked, Harry threw him a caramel coloured bean, and the boy grimaced as he plopped it into his mouth "Eurgh, Earwax." the rest of the day passed without incident, though Theodore didn't join them for lunch.

The day's passed with an almost boring repetition, though they were still the best days of Harry's life. Potions was almost enjoyable. Whilst Snape would stand looming over Harry and Neville's shared cauldron, passing snide comments and insulting them when he could, the two boys had become good friends during their time being paired. Even Draco, who had initially disliked the Longbottom heir, seeing him as wet and worse, a Gryffindor, looked upon him with grudging acceptance. Transfiguration and Charms were by far the most interesting, the professors being entertaining with a good grip over the class. Harry found himself enjoying Charms slightly more, due to the presence of Professor Flitwick. Whilst Mcgonagall was relatively neutral, she tended to look upon the Slytherins with suspicion bubbling behind her eyes. Defence Against the Dark Arts, a subject which had rallied a lot excitement from the students, turned out to be a complete disappointment. Professor Quirrel was afraid of his own shadow, and smelt permanently of garlic. His classes were a glorified joke.

The Slytherins first flying lesson was one that cemented the already strong hatred between Draco, Harry and the boy who they casually referred to as 'the Weasel.' The lesson had started off well, and Harry had felt the flutter of excitement in his stomach as his broom leapt into his hand, obeying his command of, "Up,". However, the class was too good to last, and with a yelp, Neville was swept off his feet and lifted high into the air before plummeting to the ground with a crack that made Harry wince from his position on the sidelines. The weeping boy was escorted to the hospital wing, and his rememberall, a glass orb gifted to him by his grandmother, lay forgotten on the grass. Draco stepped forwards, picking it up and tossing it to Harry, who wiped it on his robes as to clean it before dropping it into his pocket, intending to give it to Neville during their potions class.

"Give it here, Potter." came Weasley's voice, loud and grating to the ears of the Slytherins, Harry snorted and ignored the boy, Draco sneered from beside him and said casually,

"What are you going to do with it Weasley, sell it?" the Slytherin's laughed as the boy flushed red.

Harry commented casually, "It would be worth more then his house… Is it true your whole family lives in one room, Weasel?"

Draco snorted, "My father says it's a glorified pig-pen, do you all sleep on the floor, or do you share a bed?" he asked, eyes glittering maliciously. The red head was crimson with anger and his housemates looked ready to join in the brawl,

"I'd rather be poor then death eater scum like you, Malfoy." he snarled, his housemates cheered and it was Draco's turn to flush. Harry's anger rose at the comment, and the Slytherins were murmuring angrily. He stepped forwards aggressively,

"You best be keeping your opinions to yourself, Weasel." He sneered, "accusations like that could get you into a lot of trouble." Weasley opened his mouth to respond angrily, but was cut off by an irritated looking Blaise Zabini,

"Don't try and argue, Weasel, you lower the IQ of the population every time you speak." his voice was cool and Harry glanced at him appreciatively. The boy nodded slightly in his and Draco's direction, the latter of which was looking startled, though far from unhappy with the turn of events. The Slytherin's laughed at the words, though there was no real amusement behind it, they were merely showing solidarity before the Gryffindors, who were glaring daggers at them. Before the tension could bubble over the surface, leading to what would likely be a brawl to be remembered for years, Madam Hooch returned, ending the conflict and leaving nothing but bad feelings in it's wake.

Whilst the incident solidified the already semi-solid feud between Ronald Weasley and the three Slytherin boys, it also strengthened their friendship. The three had sat together at lunch, whispering to each other and glaring at Ron in a very secretive way as they plotted his punishment. The Weasley in question looked almost nervous as he glanced in their direction, though this emotion was mixed with a healthy level of Gryffindor bravado.

It was only when Halloween came to pass, however, that things took a turn from juvenile, to dangerous. The Halloween feast would have been a memorable affair without a troll venturing into the school, the hall was brilliantly decorated, and the candy available was more then Harry had ever seen in his life, yet, as Professor Quirrel charged into the room, spittle flying whilst he shrieked,

"Troll in the dungeons," his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he dramatically concluded, "Just thought you ought to know." before fainting, Harry deduced that this Halloween probably wasn't going to be a positive memory. This thought was quickly forgotten has he frantically turned and scanned the table,

"Nott's still in the dungeons!" Draco squeaked as Harry came to the same realisation,

"He never eats with us, so he's…" The two boys leapt to their feet, and Blaise, who had been watching them with some foreboding, reluctantly clambered up,

"Are we telling a teacher, or rescuing him like Gryffindors?" he asked, though from his tone it was clear he already knew the answer. At the lack of response from his friends, who were quickly moving towards the exit, he rolled his eyes, "why did I even ask?" he muttered to himself, before following. The three boys slid out of the door, rushing down several flights of stairs, panic spending their movement. Suddenly, Harry (who was the fastest) skidded to a halt, his shoes squeaking on the floor as he stopped. Draco ran into his back and Blaise quickly followed in an almost cartoon-like collision that sent the three tumbling to the floor. Just ahead of them, down the corridor, was a giant Troll. The smell hit them before the sight, and Harry let out a groan that could have been from the pain of being crushed under both of his friend's weight, or the nasty scent.

"It's going into the girls bathroom!" Draco said, clambering to his feet. Harry and Blaise followed suit and the three dashed to the entrance, trying not to gag at the stench. Wordlessly, they caught the doors behind the troll, and yanked them shut, before breathing out in relief,

"That was way easier then I thought it would be." Harry said, relief clear in his voice. They turned to walk away, when a high scream resounded from the bathroom.

"Darn it." Draco muttered, and Blaise let out some choice swear words, as they ran back to the door they had just vacated, throwing it open. A girl was crouched under a sink, her bushy hair hid most of her face but the Gryffindor tie was visible, a flash of scarlet in the grey rubble that was once a bathroom.

"Oh thank merlin." Draco said, "It's just a Gryffindor." he turned to leave.

"Draco!" Harry barked, the boy turned,

"It was just a joke!" he cried, and Blaise snorted,

"We need to distract it." was his only comment, "throw rocks and stuff." Harry nodded,

"Oy! Ugly!" he bellowed, throwing a chunk of sink at the troll, it bounced off his head and the beast turned to look at Harry with a slightly incredulous facial expression. The girl hadn't moved from her spot under the sink and Harry prayed she would get out soon, because the troll was looking at him with a decidedly unfriendly stare, "Come and get me you big, ugly Weasel!" he cried, throwing more rocks. The Troll swung it's club at him and Harry squealed. "Get her out of here!" he bellowed at his friends, Blaise nodded and ran around the troll, Draco followed Harry's lead and began throwing chunks of toilet seat at the troll, bellowing insults all the while. Harry realised with a jolt that Blaise and the Gryffindor were almost at the door,

"throw rocks at the wall behind it!" Draco suggested, calling to Harry from across the room, "Make some crashing sounds then we can leg it out." Harry nodded, and the two began rapidly throwing rocks at the wall behind the troll, who fell for the ploy hook, line, and sinker, turning and squaring up. Harry and Draco took their chance, pacing it to the door and slamming it shut behind them. Sighing in relief, Harry cracked his knuckles,

"On to Nott!" he said, before breaking into a run once more. Blaise and Draco ran after him,

"Wait!" called the Gryffindor girl, who still looked scared out of her wits, she glanced at the bathroom door behind her, which was slowly buckling under the weight of the troll's attack, before deciding to take her chances with her heroes, and followed the three boys on their quest.

To say Theodore Nott was surprised when Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and a Gryffindor girl burst into the boy's dormitory, covered in grime and shrieking him name in panic, was an understatement. Upon clearing his throat awkwardly, and being pulled into a three way hug (the girl stepped back, watching silently) he became beyond confused at the run of events,

"What's going on?" he asked, his roommates were looking at him with wide eyes,

"We thought you were going to be killed by a troll and the that you'd haunt us for being mean about you!" Draco snapped angrily. Harry nodded and Blaise rolled his eyes,

"A troll got set loose in the dungeons and these two," he nodded at Harry and Draco, "Decided to gain consciences, in the most Gryffindor rescue a Slytherin is capable of."

"Well, I'm fine…" Theodore said, though his ears were warming, "Who's the Gryffindor?" the three turned to look at the girl, who was staring at them with wide brown eyes,

"We don't actually know…" said Blaise, "We got her out of a bathroom with a troll in it."

"My name's Hermione Granger." she said quietly, as though afraid they would shout at her for speaking,

"Nice to meet you Ms Granger, I'm Harry Potter, this is Blaise Zabini, and this is Draco Malfoy." Harry said, gesturing to his friends, "Oh and that's Theodore Nott." he added as an afterthought, before turning back to Theodore,

"I don't want this to happen again, so, from now on, I am Harry, and you are Theodore." he said firmly to the boy, "We are friends so you have to eat with us, no more skipping food and needing rescuing from trolls." Theodore nodded dumbly, surprise numbing his reactions.

"Same for me." said Draco,

"and me." came Blaise. The Gryffindor cleared her throat awkwardly,

"What does it mean to call someone by their first name?" she asked, cheeks flushed at her lack of knowledge.

"Are you a muggle born?" Draco asked, a sneer tingling at the edges of his expression, the girl nodded, sticking out her jaw proudly without saying a word,

"Draco, can I lend her the book?" asked Harry, "I finished it." Draco nodded half heartedly, scowling. Harry grabbed the book on wizarding etiquette from his shelf, handing it to the girl,

"I was raised by muggles too." he said, with a grin, "calling someone by their first name is a sign of friendship and it's basically saying that you'll stand up for someone if they need your help. Read this." he said, the girl nodded, she opened her mouth to ask a question when-

"Why were you in the bathrooms, anyway?" Draco interrupted, rudely. The girl gave him a look which clearly said that she didn't like him very much, before answering,

"If you must know, I was upset because Ro- _Weasley_ keeps insulting me for being better then him at magic." she said bitterly. Draco's sneer melted away from his face as he looked at the girl,

"Weasleys are a stain upon society." he said sombrely, "Don't worry about what he has to say, he wasn't sent to school so he doesn't know how to play nice." the girl laughed slightly,

"You guys aren't what everyone says Slytherins are." she said quietly, Blaise frowned,

"That's because Gryffindors hate us." he said, "The last war turned lots of people against Slytherin, though the prejudice was already there." The girl bit her lip, and Draco asked,

"Do you have friends in Gryffindor?" Hermione flushed, and didn't answer.

"Neville is in Gryffindor," Harry commented, "he's cool." Draco sent him a dirty look,

"But we're _cooler_. Hermione, you can call me by my first name." he said, decidedly, Harry, Blaise and Theodore looked surprised by the turn of events,

"Um, me too, I guess." Harry said, Blaise nodded before reluctantly agreeing, Theodore followed suit. The girl flushed, before smiling,

"Thank you, for saving my life, _and_ for being my friends." she frowned, "Could someone instruct me on the way back to Gryffindor Tower though, I don't want a detention."

Once Hermione had left, Draco was placed under the magnifying-glass gaze of his roommates, he shifted uncomfortably,

"She's a muggleborn!" Blaise snapped, Draco opened his mouth to respond,

"Watch it, my mum was a muggleborn!" Harry cut in, "And I think Hermione seemed nice,"

"She may be nice but she had to have been ostracised from her own house for a reason!" Blaise said, Theodore watched the proceedings silently, unsure whether to chip in,

"Her being ostracised from Gryffindor is hardly a strike against her name." he said mildly, and Harry cast him a smile from his bed, "Though being a muggleborn is." Harry's smile evaporated.

"I thought you were on my team!" he muttered, Theo shrugged,

"My dad would kill me if he found out I was on first name basis with a muggle born." he said, Draco and Blaise paled, seemingly having just realised that they were in the same boat. Harry snorted,

"Just because they're your parent's prejudices doesn't mean they're yours too!" he said, "you were born with their blood, not their ideology." he nodded in approval of his seemingly profound statement, Draco scowled,

"I almost want to argue against myself to spite you, Harry." he shook his head, "I don't know what came over me, okay? I just hate Weasley so much and the idea of him bullying someone like her because she's more talented-"

"How do you know she wasn't lying about that?" Blaise asked, Theodore shook his head,

"She wasn't. Don't you guys pay any attention in class? She's the smartest girl in our year!" that shot Blaise's argument dead out of the water.

"It doesn't matter anyway." Harry said smugly, "We all said we were her friends already, there's no going back." the four boys lapsed into silence,

"How did you guys get past a troll anyway?" Theo asked, the boys were about to delve into their tale when the door to their dormitory banged open, revealing a furious Professor Snape,

"Where have you been?!" he bellowed, his students blinked up at him, and Draco put on the most innocent face he could muster,

"We've been in our beds sir, were we meant to be somewhere else?"

"Don't play games with me Mr Malfoy." Snape said, angrily, "I saw you all at the feast, why aren't you with your housemates?"

"Are you sure you were't hallucinating sir?" Blaise asked,

"What happened to your leg?" Harry asked in awe. The Potion's professor gave them a death glare,

"You watch yourselves, boys, otherwise you won't stay long at this school, even you, Mr Malfoy." he shook his head, "I know you were at the feast, so I won't bother explaining what has occurred to you all, but if I catch even the slightest hint that you are misbehaving in _any way whatsoever_ , for the next few weeks, I'll have you pickling frogs eyes until you want to gouge out your own." and with that, and a swish of the man's cape, he was gone.

"How dramatic." Harry muttered, "Night folks." his farewell was echoed by his friends as he pulled the curtains around his bed shut and drifted into sleep.

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 **Hey so I know this is really late. I accidentally deleted the file before uploading it and I didn't have the heart to type it up again. I'm sorry. I'll update again in the next two days or so. Please please please please review.**


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter 4

Befriending Hermione Granger had been a mistake. Harry had realised this within days of the deed having been done. It wasn't that she wasn't nice, she seemed perfectly amiable, however if she mentioned 'Study guides' or 'OWL's' one more time, he was sure he would bludgeon her. As it was, he and his Slytherin friends casually and routinely palmed her off onto Neville, who seemed to enjoy her company in Gryffindor. At first, this was done subtly. They would call Neville into a conversation, before gradually extracting themselves, leaving the two alone, but it soon developed into an odd game which amused all but Gryffindors in question. The boys began to think up new ways to send Hermione to sit with Neville each day. It was when Draco ordered Crabbe and Goyle to physically carry Hermione to Neville that the girl decided it wasn't worth the trouble of trying to converse with them, and, with a huff, made a habit of sitting beside Neville. Nevertheless, the Gryffindors and Slytherins, in an unusual disregard of the house rules, would smile at each other in the hallways, and even occasionally share a snigger at the fate of Ron Weasley, who somehow managed to scrape a couple of friends in his own house, though their IQ was debatably lower then his.

"He had the audacity to ask me if he can copy my homework!" Hermione exclaimed one evening, to the Slytherin's delight and Neville's bemusement, having witnessed the event first hand, "He put his arm around me as though we're _friends,_ and says 'Hermione, _please.'_ obviously I told him to get stuffed, but-"

"She more then told him!" Neville interjected, "She used that curse you used on Seamus, Draco, the boil one, and the leg locker curse!"

"So that's why I saw Weasley being escorted to the hospital wing." Blaise said thoughtfully,

"Hermione, you are a legend." Harry said cheerfully, mind full of a cursed Weasley, "You know what they say, 'The only good Weasley-'

"'is an injured Weasley!'" finished Draco with a flourish. Hermione stared at them,

"Do you guys sit down and think these up?" she asked, frowning, the two boys shook their heads with a grin, and Blaise said,

"they talk about them before bed, it's annoying."

Harry snorted, "You would miss our banter if it wasn't there."

"Debatable," commented Theodore with a smirk. Despite his initial discomfort, the boy had become part of the group relatively smoothly, though he was still quiet.

"But anyway, speaking of Weasley…" Hermione said, leaning forwards, "I didn't have anyone to tell before, but myself and Neville may have got caught up in an unwilling adventure with him." Neville blanched at the memory,

"I was just getting ready to forget about that…" he muttered sadly, Hermione patted his hand consolingly,

"For some reason, Weasley and Finnegan were trying to sneak down to the trophy room in the middle of the night, a couple of months ago." she said, but paused as Harry and Draco exchanged a look, "Why do I have the feeling you two were involved somehow?"

"The idiot was under the impression that I challenged him to a duel." Draco said, by means of explanation,

"Did you?" Hermione asked,

"Nope, if the imbecile bothered to read, he would've known that I used the wrong challenge phrase, making the duel meaningless. I was under no obligation to attend." Draco said smugly,

"And you were involved in this, how?" Hermione asked Harry, frowning slightly,

"I was his second." Harry chirped cheerfully, "Also I ratted out the Weasel to Filtch." he added as an afterthought. Hermione huffed,

"Well, evil schemes aside, there is a giant three headed dog on the third floor corridor, and it's standing on a trap door. It's all very mysterious." she said in a rush. The Slytherins stared at her before Theodore asked,

"You don't think that might link in to the giant bite mark on Snape's leg, do you?" Hermione and Neville stared at him blankly, but Blaise nodded thoughtfully,

"That would imply that the troll incident wasn't an accident, because for whatever reason, rather then dealing with the troll, professor Snape was on the third floor corridor. That sounds to me like a distraction technique."

"So Snape wants whatever the dog is guarding?" Harry guessed, glancing up from his textbook, Theodore and Blaise shook their heads whilst Draco continued to watch the proceedings silently.

"It's possible, but why would he? A troll wouldn't be his style of distraction anyway, I don't think, but I guess we wont know unless he succeeds…" Blaise said forebodingly, Neville cleared his throat,

"I think we're missing something?" he said questioningly, Draco cast him a disparaging glance,

"Snape came into our room on Halloween to shout at us, and had a big bite ark on his leg, when Harry asked him about it, he left pretty quickly." he said by means of explanation, Neville nodded and Draco glanced at Harry, "Say, don't you know Hagrid, the giant man who lives in that hovel by the forest? Maybe he knows."

Harry shrugged, eyes flickering down before he spoke, "We can try if you want, but I don't reckon it will be any use, he was pretty vocal in his hate of Slytherins, 'there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin'" Harry recalled the man's words, which at the time he had accepted, but now felt more then slightly injured by. Hermione scowled,

"That's such an unprofessional thing to say!" she said irritated, Harry shrugged,

"It didn't change where I ended up though, and he hasn't been in contact since." he tried to keep his voice neutral, but the slight hurt was almost palpable in his tone.

"Who would've thought," Draco said with a sneer, "The halfbreed has standards." the Slytherins snickered at that, whilst Hermione and Neville pretended not to hear the more bigoted side to their friend's humour.

"Maybe me and Neville could go down and find something out, we are Gryffindors, so he'll be more receptive, right?" Hermione said, Neville nodded in agreement.

"If you want," said Draco, "but I think we'll probably stay out of this adventure. Saving friends from trolls is one thing, but I don't think I'm Gryffindor enough to actively seek out adventure at this point in my life." the friends laughed before parting ways.

Christmas was getting closer with each day, and Harry felt a reluctance for the holiday season to come. All of his friends would be going home for the coming weeks, and Harry was going to be left alone.

"It's a shame that some people don't have families that want them home for Christmas…" Weasley said loudly as he passed the Slytherin table, eyeing Harry meaningfully as he did so. His words were met with filthy looks from the table of green, and the boy strolled on, lacking desire to stay and be insulted. Nonetheless, his words had struck a chord in Harry, because as cruel as they were, they were equally true. The Dursleys certainly didn't want him home for Christmas.

"Harry, you could always come to my house for the holidays…" Blaise had said tentatively. Harry reluctantly shook his head, the offer had been extended to him from both Theodore and Draco as well, but it felt wrong to intrude on their family times.

"Don't worry about me," Harry said, forcing a smile that was almost convincing, "I'll explore the school over the holidays, I'm thinking of making a map."

"We'll help you when we get back!" Draco said with a grin, slinging his arm across the boy's shoulders, "then we can get around the school fast enough to prank Weasley without getting caught!" Pranking had been a common topic amongst the four boys. Whilst the idea of giving the Weasel a good taste of revenge was appealing, the detentions they would definitely receive made them less eager to act.

"We'll miss you, Harry." said Theodore sadly, Harry grinned, placing a hand over his heart dramatically,

"Stop, you're going to make me blush!" he exclaimed, though his face warmed at his friend's care, "But I'll miss you guys too! Hope you have a good Christmas! I'm going to go bag a good seat in the common room." having been engulfed in a large group hug, as well as a tight hug that left him struggling to breathe from Hermione, Harry ducked away, to sit in the common room and pore over his textbooks, and later, explore.

His friends were true to their words, sending him frequent letters, and despite being alone, Harry felt his friend's presence. Christmas morning was one Harry would remember for a long time. He awoke at gone twelve, and felt his heart stop at the pile of presents at the end of his bed. With trembling hands, he reached out, checking the label of the top parcel, 'To Harry, Merry Christmas, best wishes Blaise.'. There was one from each of his friends. They were his first christmas presents. Harry unwrapped each gift with sweaty palms, careful not to tear any of the wrapping paper as he gently stowed it away in his trunk, along with each label saying what was from who. He got several new books from Theodore and Hermione, a pair of quidditch gloves and 'The Basics of Quidditch' from Draco, a wand holster from Blaise and a large amount of candy from Neville, however it was the last gift that truly took his breath away. Packaged in unmemorable brown paper, with string binding it shut, was a gift without a name. It merely had a small note attached, which read,

"Your father gave this to me before he died, use it well." within the parcel was an invisibility cloak. Harry initially didn't know what it was, but upon wrapping the item around his shoulders and realising with a jolt that his body had disappeared, it didn't take much research to find out the name of his new favourite possession. Harry stowed it away in his trunk, deciding to tour the castle late in the night using it at some point. After opening his presents with delight, he ambled down to lunch, to find that Dumbledore had decided to push all of the tables together in order to give a unified image of the school during the holiday season. Harry slid into a seat next to a girl with blonde hair tied into two bunches who glanced at him worriedly, but said nothing. Harry offered her a hand and made his introductions, learning that the girl was called Hannah Abbot and she was in Hufflepuff. The two chatted amiably during the christmas dinner, and Hannah confided in Harry that she was at school for christmas because she didn't like her sister's fiancé and didn't want to spend a holiday with them.

"He's unbearable!" she complained, "All he ever talks about is finance and fancy cars!" Harry snorted,

"Sounds like my uncle," he laughed, "I don't like him very much either, and my aunt always concerns herself about the neighbours more then anything!" the two had a fun time bemoaning their relatives and Harry offered the proverbial branch of friendship in the form of a Christmas cracker. It was only half way through the lunch that Harry realised that the Weasel was glaring daggers at him from across the table. Harry smirked slightly but otherwise ignored the boy in favour of his new friend.

Despite his misgivings, Harry ended up enjoying Christmas, having an acquaintance in Hannah Abbot, and riling up Weasley with subtle smirks and jabs meant the joys never ceased, however, he was still delighted at the return of his friends, who came bearings stories of christmas parties and presents they had received. Harry showed them his invisibility cloak with wild hand gestures and excited whispers. Trying to keep the item secret from Crabbe and Goyle was proving to be a slight challenge, but the boys made plans to go exploring during the night nonetheless. They kept the cloak hidden from Hermione too, for fear she would claim it for late night library visits, this was only enforced by her frantic searching for the identity of Nicholas Flamel. Upon visiting Hagrid, Hermione and Neville had been more then slightly successful in gaining information, leading the boys to ponder why they weren't in Slytherin. Hermione was frantically searching the library for a project worked on by Nicholas Flamel and Albus Dumbledore, that was valuable enough to be guarded by a three headed dog named Fluffy. The Slytherin boys were far from interested in her quest, and routinely pondered whether or not to show her the Dumbledore chocolate frog card, which would have told her exactly what she wanted to know. Theodore religiously collected the cards, and had instantly known what Hermione was searching for. Neville seemed to suspect that they knew more then they were letting on, but otherwise made no effort to confront them on the issue.

"Aren't you in the least bit curious?" she asked them irritably, her hair was wilder then usual and there was a smudge of ink on her cheek. Blaise shook his head,

"Why would we be?" he asked, not looking up from his transfiguration homework, "Clearly we aren't supposed to know."

"But there is a three headed dog, and a series of challenges stopping someone from stealing whatever this thing is, doesn't it interest you in the slightest?" there was no response from her friends, the boys merely focusing on their work, even Neville seemed reluctant to argue her case, "guys?" there was no answer, "guys?" she tried again, gaining no reaction from the boys. She huffed, "fine, be that way, I was just going to tell you some interesting information about Hagrid…" suddenly, she had regained their attention, "but never mind, if you're all going to just ignore me…"

"Hermione, we're sorry, please tell us the dirt on Hagrid?" Theodore asked, a pleading look entering his eyes, Hermione's face softened before she smiled, leaning forwards,

"Before I tell you, you have to promise not to do anything to get Hagrid into trouble, okay?" she said, a pleading note entering her voice, "I know what you guys are like." upon securing their vow that no harm would come to Hagrid she leaned forwards, "Hagrid has a dragon."

"A dragon?" said Blaise, glancing at Neville for confirmation, the boy nodded sombrely,

"That lumbering ape got hold of a dragon?" said Draco, eyes wide,

"He lives in a wooden house…" murmured Harry

"I know…" said Hermione, answering all three statements at once. The Slytherin quartet looked at each other, before Harry leapt to his feet, Draco right next to him, the other two boys followed suit, delight colouring their facial features.

"We've got to go." Draco said, hastily, "We'll talk to you later!" he said, as the four began to hurry towards the exit,

"Where are you going?" Neville called, worriedly, "Don't forget your promise!" he said, Theodore cast him a grin,

"Don't worry about it." he said, eyes sparkling, "Hagrid is perfectly safe from us." The moment the four were out of earshot of the worried Gryffindors, Harry said excitedly,

"Operation Weasel trap is a-go. Ok, here's the plan: we need to discuss busting Hagrid in front of him, me and Draco should probably do that, he hates us the most, then, we need someone who knows the locking charm…" the boys looked at Theodore, who nodded in acceptance, "and someone to alert the teachers that Weasley is out of bed." Blaise grinned and volunteered,

"Snape hates me the least right now." he said, running a hand through his dark hair confidently, Draco snorted,

"Whatever. Harry, Weasley is probably still at dinner, we can pass him as he's leaving." he said, the two boys sprinted down the hall, to lurk outside the entrance and look suspicious enough to get Weasley eavesdropping. Blaise and Theodore exchanged an amused glance,

"It's about time something like this happened, we've needed to get Weasley back all the crap he's been talking for a while now." Theodore said, and Blaise nodded in agreement.

Harry and Draco stood close together, heads bowed as they talked in faux-whispers, Draco was grinning and Harry was nodding along with what the boy was saying, they had gone through the conversation enough times while waiting for Weasley to leave the dinner hall, it was almost convincing.

"The lousy oaf has a dragon!" he said to Harry just as the boy they had been waiting for finally exited the hall, neither boy glanced his way as Harry shook his head,

"You're kidding?" he asked, their voices were quiet but still audible to the eavesdropping red-head,

"No joke," said Draco, "he's keeping it in his hut, how Hagrid acquired it is beyond me, but-"

"Once your father hears about this that freak will be gone from the school for good!" Harry cried, suppressing a smirk as Weasley gasped, "How long till your letter to him arrives?" Draco shrugged,

"three days, probably, it's not like we don't have time on our side, no one knows we know!" his words were clearly staged but the Weasel was drinking up every single bit, Harry grinned,

"You'd need a professional Dragon handler to get rid of that thing!" he said, "Hagrid isn't going to know what hit him." with those words, the two boys turned and headed away, leaving Weasley to form a heroic plan to save the day. Later, when regaling their friends with their words, Blaise asked,

"How did you know Weasley's brother worked with dragons?" Draco grinned in response,

"Father told me, he hates the Weasley breed more then I do!" the boy's laughed quietly,

"On to stage two…" Theodore said, turning to Harry, "You need to follow him with the cloak and get the details of his plan." Harry nodded,

"Sir, yes sir!" he gave a military salute, eyes twinkling. Thankfully, the next day was Saturday, so Harry's absence from class being noted wasn't a problem. Harry returned to the dormitory later the following day, looking exhausted.

"He sent a letter, to his brother, but he didn't do anything else except tell Finnegan and Thomas that he sent said letter to his brother and about Hagrid's dragon. He'll probably get a response by tomorrow." Malfoy nodded and patted Harry on the back,

"I'm sorry that you had to endure a day of pure Weasley, mate, that's a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone." Harry sighed and nodded sadly, before he said,

"I have to give it to him though, that guy is a pro at chess, he could probably beat _you_ , Blaise!" the boy in question shrugged,

"He may be good on the board, but his strategy in normal life is pure Gryffindor." Blaise's tone let them know that this was far from a good thing, before he buried his head back in his textbook.

"I think you injured his pride, Harry." said Theodore, frowning. Harry shrugged,

"Sorry Blaise…" he called, the boy grunted in response, and Harry pulled out the map that he had been working on. It wasn't perfect, he had sketched it out in pencil as he travelled through the building, and gone over it in ink once he had completed it; there were smudges and stains, and Harry was well aware that he had likely missed out on hundreds of Hogwart's secret passages, but he was proud of it nonetheless. He held up the map,

"Once we know where he's going, we will block off all of the exits as he passes through them, then, he'll be trapped." he said, Draco laughed from the bed next door, and Blaise stopped sulking as he sat up,

"So are you, Draco and Theodore going under the cloak, while I alert the teacher?" he asked, Harry nodded, and casually reminded him,

"Remember, you heard Weasley and Finnegan talking about sneaking out during dinner, and you wanted to tell him what they were saying just in case, they are planning on going to fly." Blaise nodded, already having memorised what he was to say to Snape,

"I still don't reckon he'll believe me." he said,

"Of course he won't." said Draco, "But as long as he doesn't catch us doing anything, he wont ask questions, he hates Gryffindors as much as we do." The boys lapsed into silence, before Harry asked,

"Why _do_ the other houses hate us?" his question wasn't said in an upset tone, he was merely curious, everyone expected him to be unfriendly just because he was a Slytherin, from Blaise's bed came the answer,

"It's the house that all the bad guys come from." came his amused voice,

"All hail the Dark Lord Theodore!" Draco's scoff was thrown from his bed and the other boys began to titter, Theo cleared his throat indignantly,

"I'll have you know I could be a Dark Lord if I wanted to! Why do you guys find that so funny?" he cried, the boys didn't respond, merely laughing harder. Finally Blaise said,

"Guys shut up, I want to sleep now." and, after an impromptu lullaby from Harry and Draco, the Slytherin first years fell asleep.

The next morning came and the Slytherin boys awoke to find Harry's bed had already been vacated, the boy had clearly taken his duty as Weasley's personal stalker to the heart, and had slipped off to follow the boy to breakfast. The boys gradually made their way to breakfast and Harry emerged as they were finishing their food, his eyes were bright and excited as he slid into a spare seat, shovelling bacon onto his plate,

"They're meeting in the astronomy tower, tonight, Weasley and Finnegan are going to carry the Dragon together in a box. Apparently it's called Norbert." he said, between mouthfuls of food, "We need to go map out his route after this." The four boys sped to their dormitory the moment everyone had finished their breakfast. From the Gryffindor table, Hermione looked at their retreating forms suspiciously,

"They're up to something." she said, Neville stared at her

"What tipped you off? The fact that they have barely left their rooms since you told them about the dragon, or the fact that Harry has been suspiciously absent from their company on the rare times they did venture outside?" he asked, voice sarcastic, Hermione threw a piece of egg at him, scowling,

"Should we try and find out what they're up to?" she asked, ignoring her friend's sass, Neville shook his head,

"There's no use trying, they know how to keep their secrets." he said, continuing to eat his breakfast,

"What secrets?" she asked eagerly, Neville looked uneasy,

"I'm not getting involved in this." he said determinately. Later, once Gryffindor had been demoted to last in the house competition, having lost one hundred points, he would regret his choice.

Once night had fallen, Harry, Theo and Draco slid from their dormitories, small forms hidden beneath Harry's invisibility cloak as they crept through the corridors, despite all their talk, this was their first time out of the dormitories at night, the idea of travelling into the dark of the dungeons was previously deemed too scary for even the bravest first years. Their slipper clad feet padded silently on the cold floor as they travelled to the Astronomy tower. They were just in time, the flickering of a lit wand disappeared up the stairs to the tower, alerting them to Weasley and Finnegan's presence. Even from the bottom of the steps they could hear Weasley's loud voice. The three boys routinely travelled along the corridor, locking all of the doors as they went, before stepping through the final door and locking it behind them with a click. Their silent laughter was cut short as the sound of footsteps caused the three boys to shrink back into the wall, despite the presence of the invisibility cloak. Professor Snape stepped into their line of vision, and his black eyes rested upon them for several long seconds, almost as though he could see them, before he continued on his way, stopping at the door to the astronomy tower and trying the handle, a knowing smirk curved his lips as he realised it was locked. Wordlessly, he tapped the lock which opened with a click. The man walked purposefully through the entrance, and the Slytherin boys took their chance to escape, moving as fast as they could away from the scene before they alerted the professor to their presence through their laughter. Finally, they reached the Slytherin common room, bursting through the entrance the moment it creaked open, their laughter echoing off the walls. Blaise sat in an armchair waiting for them, his eyes amused as he demanded all of the details, which were readily given. The four eventually went to bed with smiles upon their lips, delighted with themselves.

The next morning, each boy grinned at Ron as they passed, and the boy glowered in turn, he sat alone with Finnegan, the both of them having been ostracised from their house due to the great loss of points that had accompanied their capture. Hermione and Neville cast them reproachful looks from where they were sitting, but the Slytherin four were too delighted with themselves to pay them much attention.

"I think that we're rather good at this pranking business…" said Draco, a smile curving his lips, this declaration was met with nods and smiles from the others, and their fellow Slytherins, who clearly suspected their involvement, looked upon the boys with delight.

Overall, Harry thought, as he helped himself to extra bacon, the whole thing had been a great success.

* * *

 **Ok, a new update, hopefully the next capture will be within the next two days. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, please come back** **and review again, I love reviews and any suggestions are welcome. Whilst I know how the plot is going to go already, if theres anyone you think should become friends with the Slytherin gang, let me know. PLEASE REVIEW**


	6. Chapter Five

CHAPTER 5

Neville and Hermione were ignoring them. Their absence from everyday life was bothersome to the Slytherin boys, who missed the presence of their Gryffindor friends more then they cared to admit.

"Maybe we should just apologise?" asked Theodore, sitting on a comfy chair by the fire, Harry and Draco let out synchronised scoffs,

"Have some shame!" cried Draco,

"Apologise?!" Harry spat, simultaneously. The two boys nodded at each other in approval of their mutual dramatic reaction.

"I doubt apologising would get us anywhere anyway," said Blaise to Theodore apologetically, "'I'm sorry' doesn't get them back their one hundred points." the boys lapsed into silence for several minutes, before-

"How do you defeat Devil's snare?" Harry asked, quill paused above his Herbology essay, Draco sighed dramatically,

"Hermione would know…" he said, voice forlorn,

"So would Neville." Blaise said, dryly. Harry wiped a fake tear from his eye,

"They will be missed." he said, voice sombre,

"They're in a better place." comforted Draco, patting his friend on the shoulder,

"Sometimes," Harry confided, "in potions, I think can hear their little voices…" Draco nodded,

"Me too, Harry, but don't fret, all pain is temporary." he said, Harry sniffed and Theodore slammed his book on the table before them angrily, making everyone (except the ever-composed Blaise) jump.

"Stop talking about them as if they've died!" he snapped, eyes flashing as he looked at the two boys angrily. Harry's jaw protruded stubbornly as he scowled at his friend.

"Let me grieve!" he hissed, "have some compassion." Theodore opened his mouth to snap back a retort, but Draco beat him to it,

"Theo is right, Harry." he said. Theodore blinked, surprised at the support,

"I am?" he asked, Draco nodded,

"Neville and Hermione wouldn't want us to remember them this way, they will live on in our memories." he said, voice clear and calm. Harry nodded, though still grief-stricken, and Theodore slapped his forehead, before returning to his book, giving up on the conversation at hand. A light slightly crazed look entered Harry's eyes before a grin overtook his features.

"I have an idea," he said, gaining the wary attention of his three friends, "Crabbe, Greengrass, get yourselves over here!" he bellowed. The two disgruntled looking first years made their way over curiously, and Harry cleared his throat imperiously, "Due to the unfortunate loss of Neville and Hermione," he said, "we find ourselves lacking two companions, we need a bookworm, and a grunt that's good at herbology. We have looked at your applications, and found you to be meeting the necessary criteria, sit." he said, gesturing to two empty seats, Crabbe obeyed, but 'Greengrass', a pretty girl with long blond hair tied in a braid, glared at them,

"What makes you think I want to be a replacement for Granger?" she asked, tapping her foot,

"Would you rather be a replacement for Neville?" Draco asked, the girl turned her dark gaze to him, and the Malfoy heir shrivelled back into his seat, wide-eyed. "I liked the old Hermione better." he whispered to Harry.

"I'm sorry about them…" Blaise finally spoke up, having been watching the conversation with mild shame, "They don't know how to act around people sometimes. It would do us a great honour if you would deign to grace us with your presence, Lady Greengrass." the girl's glare faded as she thought about the offer, slightly mollified,

"Only if Tracy can come too." she finally decided, "And we want first names."

"Done." said Blaise, before Harry or Draco could interject and scare the pretty girl away.

It turned out that Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass were a good addition to their friendship group. Crabbe, who had taken up the role of Neville with great dedication, spent most of his time in the Greenhouses, becoming better acquainted with Herbology so he could master the art, and play his character to the best of his ability, but the two girls more then made up for his absence.

It was during this period, that Neville and Hermione committed what was, to the four boys, the ultimate betrayal. A stunned Blaise spotted the two in the company of Weasley in the library, the three of them had their heads together as they whispered frantically. The boys were left in a sombre mood for days as they pointedly ignored the Gryffindors, who ignored them in return. Draco, in particular, was stung by the Gryffindor's ease in becoming friends with their worst enemy, he felt it as a personal insult, seeing as he was the first to offer his friendship to Hermione, no, _Granger._

"I offered that mudblood my friendship." he said angrily one evening, "We all did, and she rejects us over some stupid prank on _the Weasel_?" Harry ripped a leg off his chocolate frog as he listened to the boy rant,

"What's a mudblood?" he asked curiously, once the boy seemed to have simmered down,

"It's a bad word for someone with muggle parents." Blaise said, arching an eyebrow in Draco's direction, "My mother always said it was the most vulgar of terms to use in every-day conversation." the blonde boy flushed at the jab, falling silent as he continued to glower into the fireplace.

Harry frowned, "So, like my mother, then?" he asked, eyes narrowing slightly, Draco shifted uncomfortably,

"I didn't mean anything by it Harry, it was meant for Granger only." he muttered, Harry shrugged,

"I'd rather insult her for something she's done, then something she can't control." he said finally, allowing the comment to slide.

"I'm surprised that you guys managed to remain friends with Granger and Longbottom for as long as you did, to be honest." said Daphne, glancing up at them from the chess board herself and Tracy were hunched over, "Gryffindor isn't known to be friendly towards the Slytherins at the best of times, well, no one is, but Gryffindors are the worst."

"It's not like they had alternatives," said Harry angrily, remembering the children in his primary school, who would flock to Dudley's side the moment he offered them any attention, leaving Harry alone, "They didn't have friends in Gryffindor but now that the Weasel is interested in a friendship with them, why would they want to hang out with us?" his fists clenched slightly as he said the words, which made sense as he spoke them.

"We don't need them anyway." said Draco with a tone of finality, "Slytherins stick together, why should we care about stupid Gryffindors?"

"Ravenclaws aren't that bad…" Theodore commented, "I was paired with Terry Boot for Herbology during my first couple of weeks, he was alright." Blaise snorted,

"Ravenclaws at least have a couple of brain cells to rub together, I was paired up with Ernie Macmillan, the little ponce kept flinching and wouldn't speak more then two words to me." the group shared a laugh at that, and decided to pack up for bed as Tracy finally beat Daphne at chess, gold exchanged hands, as Harry gleefully patted Tracy on the back, thanking her profusely, as he pocketed the gold handed to him by Draco and Blaise, Daphne gave him a filthy look which had him speeding upstairs with a squeak of goodnight.

Despite the amount of time they spent messing around, the Slytherins were flourishing in class, a fact which was noted by their professors.

"It's like having James Potter and his friends back around the halls," noted Professor Mcgonagall sentimentally, one evening,

"They are doing very well in my class." said Flitwick, eyes bright, "Though I do wish that their feuds with Ms Granger, Mr Longbottom and Weasley would stop." he shook his head, "The glaring is very distracting, and if they set Mr Weasley's feather on fire one more time, I will have to deduct points."

"I worry that Mr Potter has surrounded himself with the children of Death-Eaters." Professor Mcgonagall said, "While the children are young, who knows how much they will resemble their fathers in the years to come."

"They are, first and foremost, youths, Minerva," said Flitwick said, cleaning his glasses on his robes as he spoke, "Whether or not they will become their parents, there is little point in worrying, as it is impossible to extricate him now." The two then went on to discuss their other students

Hermione and Neville finally moved on from their anger at their Slytherin friends several weeks later, despite Gryffindor still being at the bottom of the house leader boards. The two approached them in the library, where they were crowded around a table with the addition two girls that neither of them knew. The group looked up as they noticed them, and Draco sneered,

"Look what the cat dragged in." he said, eyes cold, Hermione glared at him,

"We're not angry at you any more, and it's not like you have any right to be angry with us." she said, setting her jaw angrily, "We're the ones who've basically lost the house cup."

"Boo hoo, cry us a river, why are you really here?" It was Theodore who spoke, the usually quiet boy was looking at them with undisguised anger, Hermione flushed a deep red, and Neville took over the speaking role,

"Look, we shouldn't have ignored you for this long, and we're sorry, but we were angry that you used information we'd given you to hurt our house, it felt like a betrayal."

"You'd know all about betrayal, wouldn't you, Longbottom, did Weasley finally get bored of you?" asked Harry, the use of Neville's surname caused the boy to blink, surprised,

"What are you talking about?" he asked, voice genuinely confused, Blaise shut his book with a snap,

"Guys, shall we continue studying in the common room? There's too much riff-raff round here." The group stood without a word, and left the two stunned Gryffindors alone, Hermione glance up at Neville with wide eyes,

"Why are they so angry with us?" she asked, voice quiet, the girl had never had many playmates in her muggle school, being too bookish to warrant much attention, she was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of friendship and her heart constricted painfully at the four boys sharp words and exit. Neville, who was in a similar situation, shrugged, stunned,

"I'll talk to Harry in Potions, I guess." he mumbled, but the opportunity never presented itself, Harry had quietly moved seats before the lesson began, and Neville, who was now seated next to Ronald Weasley, who's options skills were abysmal at best, cast a hopeless look in Hermione's direction.

Snape passed Harry and Draco's shared table without comment, clearly thinking better of moving Harry again, having met the eyes of his godson. The two boys cast brief dirty looks in the Gryffindor's direction,

"I'm sure Longbottom will have more fun with Weasley, anyway." said Harry, trying to assuage the guilt in his stomach at the boy's wide eyed look in his direction, Draco nodded sullenly, casting a dark look Hermione's way.

It would be a long time before the once-friends would speak again, at which point, the house rivalry which was almost unnoticeable in their first year, would have grown into an impenetrable wall holding them apart. Perhaps, if graced with the knowledge of what was to come, Neville Longbottom would have pushed through the potions lab and gained his friend's attention and sorted out their issue, but as it was, he merely got to work despairingly.

Hermione and Neville did indeed spend a lot of time around Ron after that incident, the three Gryffindors were seen in Hagrid's hut on several occasions, and were always whispering about something. The Slytherins never made any effort to find out what, focusing on increasing Slytherin's lead for the house cup, gaining many points in their classes, exploring the castle, and betting on chess games. Their year concluded uneventfully, and they approached the end of year feast with light hearts, smiling at the Slytherin decorations spanning the walls, the first years were regarded somewhat as heroes in their house, having been the ones to ensure Slytherin's victory by taking Gryffindor out of the equation. They were gifted with many pats on the shoulders from older years.

"Look!" Draco said delightedly, "Weasley broke his arm!" he pointed to where a bashed and bruised redhead was sitting, beside him was Hermione. Just before the feast began, Neville came in, looking worse for wear, and was greeted with a hug from the bushy-haired girl. The three sat down next to each other and finally, Dumbledore stood, clapping his hands together to bring the hall's attention to him,

*"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were...you have the whole summer ahead of get them nice and empty before next year starts...

Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

The Slytherins whooped delightedly, and Harry and Draco high-fived, grinning. Even Blaise allowed a wide smile to creep onto his face.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account." The Slytherin celebration was cut off as abruptly as someone putting out a candle. A sense of forboding began to creep up Harry's back as Dumbledore continued, "Ahem," he said "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...

"First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years. I award Gryffindor House fifty points. Second - to Miss Hermione Granger...for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points. Third - to Mr. Neville Longbottom,…" said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House seventy points."

The hall erupted into wild cheers, and screams. The Weasel turned in their direction, flipping them a rude hand gesture. Harry blinked, stunned, the injustice of the situation made his blood burn, they had worked _so hard_ , to get Slytherin up at the top of the leader board, yet, with a benign smile and carefully calculated point additions, Dumbledore had brought all their hard work crumbling down.

"Fifty points for a game of chess?" said Blaise, numb, "Who wins fifty points for a board game?" he asked,

"Must have been some game." Theodore agreed, pale. The Slytherin house was silent whilst the rest of the houses cheered,

"I guess it doesn't matter that they didn't win, as long as it wasn't us." Harry finally said, eyes unusually bright as he surveyed the other houses. Draco nodded,

"What's the point of the house competition if Dumbledore just makes sure we loose at the last minute?" he asked, unknown to the four boys, the other Slytherins, who had been listening to their words, the only words being spoken by any of the stunned Slytherins allowed the final question to resonate in their heads for a long time,

 _"_ _What's the point?"_

Blaise, Draco and Theodore had all extended summer invitations to Harry, who had accepted, staying with each boy for two weeks. He had written to the Dursleys in advance to let them know he wouldn't be returning home, and despite his reluctance to leave Hogwarts, he was exited. As he boarded the Hogwarts express, signifying the end to his first academic year at school, he allowed a smile to overtake his features. Though the end of year feast had cast a negative spin on the year, it had still been the best year of his life, and as he watched Draco and Tracy play exploding snap, a game which resulted in the loss of eyebrows from both parties, he felt overly content. Summer was going to be great.

* * *

 **Ok, so that physically hurt to write. I know that this is short, and it took me a long time to update, but I was finding it hard to continue. I ended up getting this done quickly, but at least the first (boring) year is over. Harry's second year will be several chapters longer, and the chapters will be bigger. Ginny is coming, next chapter, I swear.** **Please review, they really help dedicate me.**

 **Please review (I beg you) THANKS FOR READING**


	7. Chapter six

CHAPTER SIX

Harry spent the first week of his summer with Theodore. The boy lived in a large house with his father, a tall imposing man, who rarely smiled. Upon meeting Harry, he merely grunted in acknowledgement before returning to his study. This behaviour was apparently normal, as Theodore didn't batt an eye at the man's cold greeting. He showed Harry to his bedroom, a guest room next to his own and the two boys spent the majority of their two weeks outside. The Nott household had large grounds which spanned several miles, and they would amble through the muddy fields each day under a blisteringly hot sun. Theodore would talk excitedly about the wildlife that lived hidden among the different patches of land, the fairies that hid among the tall grass, and the serpents that curled like vines around the branches of trees. It was during one of their explorations, that Theodore discovered that Harry was a Parselmouth. The boy was beyond surprised to notice Harry with a bright green snake curled around his wrist, and almost passed out when Harry, who was unalarmed by the snake's attention, engaged it in a conversation made up entirely of hissing.

"Blimey Harry, you kept that hushed up!" he exclaimed, as Harry paused in his conversation with the snake, the boy looked up at him, green eyes curious,

"Kept what hushed up?" he asked,

"That you could speak Parseltongue!" Theodore exclaimed, wondering if his friend was being intentionally dense,

"What's that?" the boy asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion, Theodore almost slapped his forehead, but restrained himself at the last minute, Harry noticed the boy's hand twitch and peered at him warily, "What is it?" he repeated,

"the ability to talk to snakes." Theodore said finally, Harry shrugged,

"I'm sure loads of people can do it." his offhand comment made Theodore splutter,

"Uh, no they can't. Supposedly, only people related to Slytherin have that ability, it's really rare. If I were you, I'd keep it a secret." Harry frowned,

"Why?"

"It's generally considered only a dark wizard can be a parselmouth. Obviously, it's more anti-Slytherin prejudice, but nonetheless, you should keep it quiet if you don't want to be heralded the new dark lord or something stupid like that." Harry nodded in acceptance, and the two boys continued on their journey. As night fell, the two boys began to head back, when Theodore realised with a jolt, that the snake was still curled around Harry's arm.

"Put the snake back, Harry!" he exclaimed, Harry clutched his arm to him, wounded,

"But she likes me!" he cried, he ran a finger along the snake's scales, and the serpent let out a hiss, forked tongue flicking across Harry's skin. Theodore suppressed a shudder, "Don't you Greta?" he crooned, the snake wound it's way further up the boy's arm, "I'm going to take care of you and give you lots of food and drink and adventures!"

"Harry, what happened to keeping your ability secret?" Theodore cried, the boy shrugged,

"I just won't talk to her in front of people I don't trust." he said simply. Harry's previous words suddenly registered in his head,

"You named it Greta?" he asked incredulously, Harry nodded with a smile,

" _She,_ not _it,_ " he corrected, "Greta is a sensitive woman."

"Sorry…" Theodore mumbled, "What does Greta eat?" he imagined Harry, wheeling in human sacrifices to the snake, but the boy grinned,

"She likes lots of things, but Frog eggs are her favourite." he said, listening to the snake hiss for several seconds, "I'll owl order some from the apothecary."

"You're actually keeping her, then?" Theo asked faintly, Harry nodded with an eye roll. Later that night, Theodore's dreams were plagued with hissing and silky scales. He woke up in a cold sweat. As the days went on, however, Greta became increasingly less intimidating, the snake was almost cute, in a scary, evil way. The serpent, which was thin and bright green, rarely leaving Harry's person, when asked about why, Harry responded with a grin and a shrug,

"To snakes, speakers are very rare and desirable, it is, to a snake, an honour to be the familiar of a speaker. Greta wants a familiar bond with me, which can only be developed by excessive contact. Later, if I want, we will be able to know each other's locations at all times. I don't really get how it works, but Greta is lovely." at this, Theodore nodded, faking understanding. When the two weeks were over, the two boys parted way with fond thoughts towards each other, and Theodore wished Harry luck on his adventure with Blaise, before handing him a port key. The boy hated the means of travel, his first being on the trip to Nott mansion, which was located somewhere in Australia, a long journey, even for port-keys. When Harry reappeared in Italy, for his next two weeks of holidays, he crumpled to the floor in an undignified pile of limbs and a trunk, much to Blaise's amusement.

Mrs Zabini was an incredibly beautiful woman, with long dark hair and even darker eyes that appraised Harry as he, per pureblood tradition, kissed the back of her hand and formally made her acquaintance. She spoke with a calculated cool that made Harry slightly uncomfortable, finding her to be a touch more guileful then her son. Everything about the woman seemed carefully put together, and Harry had never understood more why Blaise wore the moniker 'Ever-Composed' like a crown crafted specifically for him. Whilst more present then Theodore's father, who only emerged from his study on Harry's first day with the Notts, Mrs Zabini was around every morning, and made a point of getting breakfast with the boys. They tried a variety of cafes, and Harry decided, having sat through too many Italian conversations with the waiters that he didn't understand, that he should try and learn the language. The woman was not around for the rest of the day barring breakfast except for rare occasions, and Blaise had merely shrugged when asked about where she went. Without the woman's presence, the two youths explored the winding streets of Venice accompanied by one of the many serving staff from the Zabini household. Harry, who had previously lived a closeted home-life with the Dursleys, and had now been to both Australia _and_ Italy, found the whole trip to be delightful.

"Why is there a snake on your arm?" Blaise asked, one evening towards the end of their time together, Harry, who was lounging beside him with sunglasses on, as he had seen muggles in magazines do it and thought it looked cool, grinned lazily in his direction,

"Did you only just notice?" he asked, as the green snake trailed a path up Harry's arm, higher until it surpassed the shoulder and curled around the boy's neck.

"No, I noticed on the first day, I just assumed you would explain." Blaise said, rolling his eyes, Harry laughed at that,

"Yeah, when I was staying with Theo I found Greta here," he said, stroking the snake lovingly, "And it turns out that I'm a parselmouth." Blaise nodded, the slight widening of his eyes the only sign that he was surprised,

"I thought that Potters were direct descendants of Gryffindor?" he asked, voice casual, Harry shrugged,

"I don't know, maybe there's some very distant Slytherin blood in me, I guess we'll never know." he said,

"Well you can probably find out from an ancestry test." he said, "they are available in Gringotts, it helps people discover fortunes they've inherited, it's dead useful." Harry glanced up, seeming to think over the offer before he nodded thoughtfully,

"I might try that when I get back." he decided. When their two weeks ended, Mrs Zabini surprised Harry with a tight hug, and told him to 'come again soon.' the woman's warmth was surprising, but Blaise would later inform him that Mrs Zabini had done so to show her approval of the two boys friendship. When Harry arrived at the Malfoy mansion, it felt like the smile would never leave his face. His fast four weeks had been amazing, and he was looking forwards to seeing Draco for his last bit of holiday.

The Malfoy mansion was pretentious, at best. The building was large and crafted from white stone, with statues of peacocks lining the path to the front doors, The hallways had thick carpets over marble floors, and tapestries, portraits and sets of armour lined the walls. When Draco greeted Harry, the boy hid his overwhelmed senses with a cheerful grin, and greeted the boy, who was slightly nervous. Draco then went on to introduce Harry to his parents. Mr Malfoy had slicked back blonde hair, a slight sneer, and a staff with an eagle head carved into the end, Harry shook the man's hand and worked his way through the necessary formalities, all the while feeling that he was under observation. Mrs Malfoy, a slender woman with long blonde hair and an arrogant beauty that matched that of her husband's, greeted him cordially, but allowed Lucius to do most of the talking. Neither were hostile, but their attitudes were cold, and Harry eagerly followed Draco when he offered to show Harry to his room.

The Malfoy adults warmed to the dark-haired youth as time went on, they watched his interactions with their son curiously. Draco had been raised with Crabbe and Goyle as his only playmates, and neither boy had much in the brains department. It was clear to Lucius a Narcissa Malfoy, that the two boys were very loyal to each other, in an almost Hufflepuff manner. Whilst Lucius was content to watch the boys interaction from afar, Narcissa, who had heard tales from Draco about his friend's upbringing and the injustice he faced at the hands of _muggles,_ ended up spending quite a lot of time with the boys. It had been a long time since she had been around lively children like them, and the experience reminded her of visits to her cousins Sirius and Regulus Black, when they were all young and rowdy. The family and their guest ate meals together, and Harry was determined to be an intelligent boy, who had odd moments of synchronicity with their son, the two boys shared an understanding that was likely very useful in mischief-making, an activity which Narcissa and Lucius were sure both partook in. The young boy intrigued them,

"It is interesting that the Potter heir is a parselmouth, given his heritage." said Narcissa, "It took me quite by surprise when he hissed down his sleeve the first time." Lucius nodded from his seat across from her,

"Yes, apparently he wants to get ancestry testing. That alone is surprising, I assumed he would have done so before now." he said, an orb sitting upon his desk vibrated suddenly, and Narcissa sneered,

"Is that meddling old man still trying to get in touch?" she asked, blue eyes cold.

"Indeed, apparently Dumbledore contacted both Nott and Zabini too," Lucius said, "The man tried to bypass the security on all of our homes, and the boys had to be accompanied by an escort around Italy. He keeps insisting that it is vital that Mr Potter returns to his relatives."

"What authority does he have?" said Narcissa, nose crinkling is distaste, "Trying to send the poor boy back to those awful muggles, it's inhumane!"

"One would almost think that you've come to care for the boy…" said Lucius, smiling slightly, the woman rolled her eyes,

"He has been good to our son, his blood is pure and his guardians are both muggle filth and despicable excuses for human beings. This is a matter of morals as well as emotions." Lucius nodded, amused eyes turning sombre,

"I agree with you, but the man has political sway. Unless we can find a legal alternative, it is almost certain that the boy will be forced back home next summer." he said, his voice took a hard edge, "No one would trust us with the child, given our history." Narcissa clenched a pale fist,

"What would the alternatives be?" she asked, Lucius pulled a file from under his desk,

"There aren't many, to be honest, the boy's godmother, Alice Longbottom, is insane in St Mungos, and his Godfather, well… It's safe to say he's out of the picture." he said, Narcissa nodded,

"Sirius Black… His fate still surprises me today, he never seemed to be the type to betray the Potters."

"I never saw him in any Death Eater meetings," Lucius commented, "he's likely mad by now, Dementors…"

"How long was he assigned, did they find out the extent of his crimes in his trial?" Narcissa asked, mind flitting to the young boy she had grown up with. Lucius frowned,

"I am unaware but I can find out, what would you plan?" he asked, Narcissa shrugged,

"If he was willing to discuss a deal, perhaps we could use our influence to get him out, allowing him to pose as Harry's guardian while we find a more fitting situation." she offered, "But if he is beyond rationality, then there is no use." Lucius nodded, already planning which pockets he ought to line to get his way.

Harry and Draco spent the majority of their time flying. It was quickly discovered that Harry was exceptionally talented in the air, and Draco, who had been planning to apply for seeker, felt slightly disheartened by the news. Harry, however, had no interest in the game, enjoying to fly like a madman and scare people much more. It was because of the two boys obsession, that Lucius bought each of them a broom. The Nimbus 2001s were sleek models and Harry didn't need to know anything about brooms to know that they were expensive.

"Honestly, Mr Malfoy, I can't accept this!" he said, eyes wide, Mr Malfoy ignored his protests however,

"I expect to see both of you on the Quidditch team next year." he said sternly, "Bring pride to your house." behind him, Narcissa laughed lightly,

"Only if you want to, of course." she said, "Leave them be, Lucius." despite the light hearted comment, both boys decided to apply for the house Quidditch team. Harry had spent the past year listening to Draco talk about _when he was seeker,_ and having no desire to steal his friend's thunder, decided to apply to be a chaser.

Harry ended up enjoying his time with the Malfoys the most, whilst Blaise and Theodore were his friends and he loved exploring new places with them, he could't help but revel in the quiet family atmosphere of the Malfoy home. Having never had a healthy family image to look up to, spending his days engrossed in the quiet banter between Lucius and Narcissa, as well as the way they doted upon their son, was amazing for him. When they travelled down to get their school supplies, Harry allowed himself to daydream about being born into such a family unit (and having them survive).

Their first stop was to Gringotts, where Harry got his much awaited Ancestry Test. A large goblin handed him a knife, and told him to slit his palm over a piece of paper. As Harry anxiously complied, wincing as the cold blade cut into his skin, and gasping slight as the wound closed behind the knife's trail. Several drops of red hit the parchment with an almost inaudible plop, and from the blood, lines began to span out across the page, until a large family tree was cast in crimson. The Goblin lifted the page with a clawed fist, bringing it close to his face as his glasses slid down his nose,

"Mr Potter," the goblin drawled, "You ought to have come here several years ago."

"I was raised by muggles, I didn't know where 'here' was several years ago," Harry responded, the goblin shrugged,

"Nonetheless, there was a scheduled appointment for you to sort out your affairs, one which you didn't attend. A letter was sent out."

"I never got any mail." Harry snapped, the Goblin ignored this comment before continuing,

"It seems, Mr Potter, that you have inherited a large fortune, not just from your parents, though the Potter fortune is not something to laugh at. The Potters have, up until recently been second in line for the Gryffindor fortune, the first being a one, Nicholas Flamel, however, this man recently passed on, along with his wife, leaving you as the heir to Gryffindor. This alone is, priceless. Your mother, birth named Lily Evans, also earned a large amount working as an unspeakable, which she placed into a private vault with you as the sole heir to." The goblin flipped the parchment over, dark eyes scanning a list which had printed on the back,

"You are aware, Mr Potter, that you are a parselmouth?" he asked, Harry pulled up his sleeve slightly, to reveal Greta toasting herself on his forearm and the Goblin muttered something about _parselmouths and their dramatics,_ before continuing, "Where this ability comes from is unclear, as I see no trace of Slytherin in your heritage, however, it is a rare gift, you are very lucky." Harry nodded, and the goblin continued, "If you attempted to try, you would be able to become an animagus." at Harry's blank look, the Goblin explained, "it is the ability to be able to change into an animal." Harry's mouth fell open slightly, but he merely nodded. "In a normal situation, you wouldn't be able to inherit your fortune until you reached wizarding adulthood at seventeen, but due to your lack magical guardians, you are able to come into your fortunes much sooner then usual. Would you like to see your vaults today?" he asked, Harry glanced at his watch, he had agreed to meet the Malfoys outside Flourish and Blotts at half twelve, which meant he had a half hour before he needed to get there,

"Yes please." he decided, and the Goblin stood, leading him to a rickety cart, much like the on that Harry had travelled with Hagrid back before his first year. They seemed to travel much deeper underground then they had Harry's first time, and the darkness from all sides was almost oppressive. At one point, it felt like a heavy curtain had been placed upon his shoulders, and Harry felt slightly light headed, before suddenly the feeling was gone,

"What was that?" he asked, over the loud roar of wind in his ears, the Goblin merely stared at him blankly, and Harry decided not to ask again. Finally, they ground to a halt outside a large vault,

"This is Gryffindor's vault." said the Goblin, he caught Harry's hand, and in a sudden movement which had Harry crying out in shock, slit his palm once more over the entrance. "It requires a blood sacrifice." he explained, but all thoughts of the pain in Harry's hand went away as the doors creaked open.

The room had little in terms of gold, though their were the occasional stacks of coins, and even, in some cases, gold bars. The room was dominated mostly by books, large, thickly bound textbooks and vials of potions lined the walls, several swords hung down from hooks on the walls, and Harry stepped in with weak knees.

"Each text alone is worth millions of galleons," said the goblin, and Harry shut his eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath, he stepped further in to the room, and felt a sudden tug on his wrist, he glanced to the goblin, to see if he had felt it, but the creature showed no reaction, the tug didn't feel hostile at all. Allowing his legs to carry him, Harry stepped over a pile of shields, past several bars of gold, and finally came to a halt before a wooden box. The wood was a deep red in colour and a black buckle held it closed. the pull was almost uncomfortable now, and Harry unlatched the box quickly. Just as soon as the discomfort had come, the feeling was gone, as Harry looked down upon a box of wands. The goblin, who had followed him, was watching the boy curiously as Harry reached into the box and pulled out a wand. Harry recalled the day he got his Holly and Phoenix feather wand with startling clarity, he remembered the rush of warmth on his skin, this wand had the same feeling, only intensified. It was made from some odd type of wood, with imperfect dark lines and swirls over a lighter background.

"Zebra-wood." said the goblin, he reached out and plucked the wand from Harry's fingers, twirling it lazily, "With a phoenix feather core," Harry absentmindedly noted that his other wand had a phoenix feather too, before he reached out and reclaimed the wand.

"I can take anything, right?" he asked, the Goblin nodded warily, and Harry's grip tightened on the wand, "Is there a way I can get copies of these books, so I don't risk damaging the originals by removing them from here?"

"A duplication charm will work." said the goblin, "If you tap your wand against a book twice, with the spell, 'Geminus' then it will give you another copy." Harry frowned,

"But the trace-"

"Will not affect your new wand." he said. Harry's eyes widened in delight, before he paused, green eyes scanning the vicinity before they finally came to rest on a large trunk, which was sitting against a wall, he undid the bolt holding it closed, expecting to see more books inside, but instead, the trunk opened to reveal several compartments, two of which were large and room sized. The trunk was empty, and Harry quickly began to fill several compartments with duplicated books. The goblin watched with amusement as they boy tried to decide which books he wanted to read the most, almost too soon, Harry realised it was twenty past twelve, and made two brief stops, in both the Potter and Evans vault. The Potter vault was large, and Harry didn't have enough time to do anything more then gape in awe, and grab some gold for his school books, before he had to leave. The Evans vault was not insubstantial either, and Harry left the bank feeling very overwhelmed. His trunk, which he lugged behind him, was oddly light, and Harry wondered if that was part of the magic of it. He finally met the Malfoys, who glanced at Harry's new trunk with raised eyebrows, Harry shrugged with a smile,

"Turns out one of my vaults was filled with books, I couldn't resist!" this was met without further comment, and the four quietly stepped into the overcrowded book shop. Harry read through his book list again, "Our teacher must be a really big Lockhart fan." he said to Draco, the boy nodded and opened his mouth to speak before letting out a yelp as a small man with a camera rudely shoved past him,

"Out of my way, this is for the Daily Prophet." he barked as he did so. Harry caught Draco's arm as the boy risked falling over and the two glared at the retreating form of the camera man. Draco glanced around for his father but the man was nowhere to be seen. Draco shrugged,

"The Lockhart books are around there," he said, gesturing past a sign which had a picture of said man, preening. The two stepped round the corner, only to see a large queue of people, all holding their own copies of the Lockhart books. A sign in the top corner of the shop read, "Free signing!" Up at the front of the shop stood a large stage, upon which stood Lockhart himself. The man had his chest puffed out as he spoke, golden hair a perfect halo about his face. Harry leaned against a shelf, watching the man. Beside him, Draco snickered slightly as the man continued to sing his own praises, suddenly, his speech came to a stuttering halt, as the man's eyes fell upon Harry,

"Sweet Merlin…" he breathed, "It's Harry Potter." suddenly, the shop fell quiet, and people turned to look in the uncomfortable boy's way. Draco glared angrily at the man, who ignored this and cried, "A picture of us, please!"

"Run." hissed Draco, and Harry turned, fully prepared to sprint from the danger. He made it half way to the exit of the shop, before the camera man tackled him, dragging him painfully to the front of the store. Lockhart wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders,

"Smile, we're going to make the front page." he hissed into Harry's ear, Harry tried to pull free of the man's grip as the bright light of the photographer's camera went off. The next day, the picture would show a smiling Lockhart, and a scowling Harry Potter, this would be the best of several pictures, the rest would depict some form of struggle.

"Mr Potter came into this store today, in order to purchase my biography. Little did he know, that he would walk out, with not just my biography, but my entire works, free of charge!" the man cried, Harry's glare intensified as a pile of books were thrust into his arms, Lockhart's fans let out a cheer at the man's generosity, "I have decided," the man continued, "after much deliberation, to take up the post of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." the bookshop let out another cheer. When Harry was finally allowed off the stage, face burning, Draco pulled him from the crowd with a sympathetic expression,

"Once my father hears about this, that photographer will be out of a job, for sure." he said, blue eyes malicious. Harry nodded gratefully, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted,

"Bet you _loved_ that, didn't you, Potter?" came the voice of Weasley. The boy had grown over the summer, and now towered over Harry and Draco, both of whom were smaller then average, "You're such an attention seeker, you can't even go into a bookstore without making the front page." he said. Draco sneered,

"Is that why you've come over then, Weasel, in the hopes of getting a side note in the prophet?" the boy flushed,

"As if," he sniffed, "You may feel the need to hang out with Potter because of his celebrity status, but I feel no such urges." he said. Draco laughed derisively, opening his mouth to say something likely highly inappropriate for a bookstore, but Harry spoke first,

"Is that why you were so eager to be friends with me in first year then, Weasley, warning me off Draco because Slytherins are the 'wrong sort'? I think that if anyone was after a political friendship, it was you, seeing as you were only interested in me upon hearing my surname." the red headed boy flushed deeper,

"I wasn't- I never- Ugh." the boy glared, "What does it matter anyway? You exchanged your parents for fame in the way only a Slytherin would. You were one of them from day one." Harry and Draco gaped at the boy with open mouthed astonishment. The boy had hinted, with snide comments about Harry's parents, but never before had he been so direct in his attack. From beside him, a girl with long red hair tied into a braid, looked up at the boy with astonishment,

"Leave him alone!" she snapped, angrily, "He clearly didn't enjoy that." the Weasel gaped down at her,

"Ginny, have some family loyalty!' he snapped, Harry and Draco stared at the girl, then back at Ron,

"You have a sister?" Draco said, eyes wide,

"How many of you are there?" breathed Harry. Ron ignored, them focusing on Ginny, who snapped,

"What if I told mum what you just said?" her eyes flashed at the boy, who gulped, Draco laughed,

"Look Harry, you have a _girlfriend._ " The girl flushed scarlet, and Harry laughed uncomfortably. He wouldn't argue with Draco about his comment in front of Weasley, as rude as it was. The rule of Slytherin, to never argue in front of enemies, was something he took to heart.

"Whatever, Weasley." he said, directing his attention to the older of the two, "We have better things to do then listen to you rant for hours, best be off." he turned, Draco following him, when a thought occurred to him. Harry spun around quickly, the books he had got from Lockhart heavy in his arms as he dropped them into the Weasley girl's cauldron. "Take them." he said firmly, "You need them more then I do, it's not like your family can pay for them." he cast a filthy look in her brother's direction, who was flushing a deep red, before turning to leave.

Ginevra watched Harry Potter's retreating form, unsure whether she should feel offended or grateful. Her mother had been panicking about how she would afford all of the necessary books, and having Ginny ticked off the list would ease the burden, but the comment about her family irked her. Ron sneered,

"What the hell was that Ginny, I know you fancied him when you were little, but you saw him, he's a _Slytherin,_ they're a bad sort, you saw how he behaved!" He growled at her, Ginny glared at him angrily,

"It had nothing to do with me fancying him!" she snapped, "And he wasn't the one making jokes about your dead parents, was he?" the gangly boy flushed dark red at the reprimand, but merely shook his head angrily, grumbling as he stomped away.

Later that same day, they would bump into Draco again, this time he would be accompanied by Mr Malfoy, whilst Ron and Ginny were with their father. Harry was paying for books during the altercation, though he would hear of it later through an awed Draco. Their encounter would be brief and violent, Mr Weasley would leave with a black eye, Mr Malfoy a split lip, and Ginny with a cursed diary, a former possession of one Tom Marvel Riddle.

Her first year would be memorable, to say the least.

* * *

 **I couldn't help writing this super fast. Finally, Ginny is with us. I hope you liked this. I tried to avoid the cliche of Harry being the descendant of loads of houses, but he's really rich anyways... There will be more Ginny next chapter as the year starts, please review...**

 **Thanks for reading, leave your thoughts and comments, I love hearing them!**


	8. Chapter seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

Harry awoke on the first day of September in a good mood, his excitement at returning to Hogwarts, along with the amount of spells he had found in his textbooks that he could use on the Weasel, caused him to be very chipper. He had a calm breakfast with the Malfoys, who had forced Harry and Draco to pack the night before, and was then apparated by the Malfoy adults to just outside the Train station. Draco, who shared Harry's good mood, practically skipped through the barrier between platform nine and ten, much to his parents quiet amusement. The two boy stared up at the giant red train, excitement bubbling, before they turned back to Draco's parents. Mrs Malfoy pulled Draco into a hug and made him promise to write, she then turned to Harry, who smiled at her,

"Thank you for having me over this summer, Lady Malfoy, it has been the best summer I've ever had!" he said, green eyes bright. Whatever reservations Mrs Malfoy had possessed towards the friend of her son's, seemed to crumble at these words, as she pulled Harry in for a tight hug.

"Do come again." she said, Mr Malfoy laughed slightly, and ruffled each boy's hair affectionately. The whole display was highly unusual from the generally cold family, and Harry boarded the Hogwarts express with a smile on his face. Harry and Draco set up in an empty compartment, and Greta slid up and around Harry's neck, disliking the cold of muggle London. They were promptly joined by Blaise and Theodore, the two boys were awestruck by Harry's trunk, disappearing into one of the room sized compartments with delight. About half way through the train journey, their compartment door slid open and Tracy and Daphne joined them,

"Where have you been?" asked Draco, Daphne rolled her eyes,

"With my sister, Astoria." she said, "She's starting this year and is already making bad decisions, she was sitting with a Weasley." Draco perked up at his nemesis' name,

"Which one?" he asked,

"The girl, honestly, their mother must be a baby making _factory._ " Theodore choked on his pumpkin juice at that.

"She's not that bad." said Harry, slightly defensively, Draco snorted,

"Ignore Harry, he's just got a soft spot for her because she defended him against her brother." he said, Harry cast him a dirty look, "What? It's true!"

"No it's not." he said, "Just because one Weasley is bad, doesn't mean all of them are." Draco rolled his eyes and didn't bother to argue with his friend. Tracy's dark eyes came to rest upon Harry's trunk and widened,

"Neat trunk!" she said, coming closer to look at it, "How many compartments?" she asked, Harry grinned

"Seven, two are rooms." he said, the girl nodded, and Harry opened it so she could peer into the room.

"That's awesome!" she said, "You could so so much in there without anyone knowing!" Harry frowned,

"I guess, but what would I be doing that I wouldn't want anyone to know about?" for the second time that evening, Theodore choked on his pumpkin juice,

"I don't know…" said Tracy thoughtfully, "maybe you could practise duelling?" the two broke off into a discussion about how a duelling set up could be put into the room. Their ride to school passed without incident, and finally they were back in the great hall, with lightening flashing in the enchanted sky above them. The first years were a miserable looking bunch, it had been raining outside, and all of them looked like drowned rats as they lined up to get sorted. Harry paid them little attention, staring sadly at his plate as he waited for food to appear. He tuned into the sorting as

"Greengrass, Astoria." was sorted into "Slytherin.", causing Daphne to let out a loud whoop, and her friends to cheer loudly. Harry once again lost interest in the sorting as it continued, suddenly there was a loud amount of booing, which had Harry glancing up once more,

"What happened?" he asked Blaise, who gestured towards the sorting hat,

"A Weasley in Slytherin." he said. Ginevra Weasley was pale as death as she approached the Slytherin table, her brothers, who were sat as far as could be from her, seemed personally offended by her sorting, shrieking in protest. Harry had been around the Weasley twins for a year, and was aware that their booing was more likely humour then real anger, but felt pity for the girl who was gaining so much attention. He cheered loudly, casting a glance at his friends, who joined his bellows of support. Astoria Greengrass, the first year Slytherin, cast him a grateful look as she too cheered. The red-headed girl slid in next to her quietly, face flushed. No one else really stood out to Harry, there was a small boy who had clearly fallen into the lake, and was sorted into Gryffindor promptly, along with a girl with upside down sunglasses on, who twirled into Ravenclaw, but Harry barely paid them any attention. Dumbledore stood up, and delivered a speech which Harry couldn't hear over the growling of his stomach, before, _finally,_ food appeared.

"You'd think we starved him…" said Draco, as he watched Harry hoover up food.

"Shut up, I'm hungry!" Harry protested. When the feast concluded, Harry stood up with his housemates to leave, when Dumbledore's voice called out to him,

"Mr Potter, would you please stay behind?" Harry exchanged a confused look with his friends, before sitting back down,

"Do you want us to wait for you?" asked Draco,

"Nah, don't worry about it, I'll see you guys later." he said, watching the other houses file out, Dumbledore approached Harry with twinkling blue eyes. Harry looked at him in slight awe, this was the closest he had ever been the renowned wizard. Harry suddenly recalled the incident of the previous year's house awards with no small amount of bitterness, and suppressed his wonder.

"Mr Potter," said Dumbledore, "May I speak with you in my office?" Harry nodded and followed the man as he lead Harry up several flights of stairs before stopping before two gargoyles,

"Sherbet Lemons." he said, and the two gargoyles parted to reveal a set of revolving stairs. Harry couldn't suppress his gasp of surprise and the old man smiled at him before leading him to his office. The room was large and lined with many spinning trinkets that had Harry unsure where to look first. Dumbledore slid into a seat behind his desk and gestured with a wizened hand for Harry to take the seat opposite him. "Mr Potter, I am sorry to call you away from your friends on the first day of school, but it has come to my attention that you spent your holidays with them, rather then with your Aunt and Uncle." Harry nodded, unsure where the conversation was going, "Whilst I am sure you enjoy spending time with your friends, do you not think it would be fitting to spend some time with your blood relations?" the man asked, Harry frowned, beyond confused,

"Sir, I, uh, I got permission from them, I let them know where I was going well in advance, I don't think that they felt in any way cheated by the arrangement." he said, Dumbledore's gaze didn't flicker, if anything, the twinkling intensified,

"Be that as it may," he said, "there are certain protections that come from you staying at a blood relative's house that cannot be replicated anywhere else, I'm afraid that I must insist you spend your next holiday, Christmas, as well as the summer with them."

"What kind of protection?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing as he ignored the voice in his head which told him to kick up a fuss at the man's demands,

"There are blood wards, created by your mother that are enforced when you spend time around her relatives." the man said, Harry nodded as though he understood,

"Thank you for your concern, sir, but I think that I'm going to stick with my friends rather then the Dursleys, I mean, it's not like _they care_ where I go, and forgive me sir, but it's really none of your business where I stay outside of school time." The old man leaned back in his chair, smile gone,

"I was afraid that you would react this way, Mr Potter." He said, nodding in acceptance, "You may go to your common room." Harry stood up, nodding politely to the headmaster.

"Thank you, sir." He said, before making a quick exit.

When he got back to the Slytherin common room, his friends were waiting up for him, all clad in pyjamas as they sat by the fire,

"What happened?" asked Theodore, and Harry relayed the tale. Once he was done, Draco stood up,

"I'm going to write a letter to my father, Dumbledore shouldn't be showing such an interest in the lives of his students." he said pacing back and forth, Harry smiled gratefully,

"Thanks Draco, but it's not necessary, unless he does something other then try and talk me into staying with the Dursleys, it's nothing more then irritating." he said, the blonde boy sat back down, and Blaise sneered,

"The audacity of the man, trying to send the Potter heir to stay with _muggle scum_ , because it's somehow safer then with pureblooded families. Can he hear himself?" Harry snorted,

"It's not worth thinking about." he said, resting his eyes as he sat back in his chair, "Tell me something interesting to distract me." There was a pause, before Draco said,

"Weasley started crying during the prefect speech, it was hilarious." Harry cracked open an eye as the boy continued, "No Slytherin would cry in front of all of their housemates, the hat obviously made a mistake." Theodore rolled his eyes,

"That's what you said about me, too, Draco." he noted, "Though I'll admit the tears were a surprise."

"You were different…" Draco tried to explain, "I made fun of you because you were always disorganised and late and running around, at least you knew pureblood customs."

"And she doesn't?" asked Harry,

"Nope." Draco said gleefully, "She won't last five minutes."

Later that night, Harry sat up in bed, his wand illuminating what he was doing as he hastily scrawled a note. He recalled himself in his first year, with no idea how to behave, and felt a wave of pity for the Weasley girl, who didn't have his advantage of being the heir to several fortunes or famous.

 _Dear Ms Weasley,_

 _I am a member of your house, and I know this might seem strange, but I am_

 _only trying to help. This book will teach you pureblood customs, which are a necessity_

 _in Slytherin house. If you follow the rules in the book, then you will do fine. I ask you to_

 _avoid reading this in public, as you will reveal me as the person who helped you to my friends._

 _This could make things difficult for me. Good luck in Slytherin._

 _A friend_

 _P.S. Don't call anyone by their first name without their permission._

Harry read through the note, and half debated whether to discard it and forget the whole thing, before the recollection of the Gryffindors booing her sorting re-entered his head.

 _"_ _Greta"_ Harry hissed, his snake peered up at him, _"Could you do me a favour?"_ The serpent almost smiled up at him,

 _"_ _Just name it, and I will do my best."_ she hissed,

 _"_ _Could you give this to Ginevra Weasley, you remember her from the book shop, right? I'll make it weightless, but if you could leave it by her bed before morning-"_

 _"_ _Anything for you, Speaker…"_ the snake hissed, dark tongue flitting out to brush his cheek in an odd kiss, Greta slid from his person soundlessly, and was soon disappearing into the dark, book and note dragged awkwardly behind her. As she slid around a corner, Harry heard her parting words, _"Damn, this floor is cold."_ before he drifted off into sleep.

When Harry awoke, Greta was back around his neck. Their dormitory was cast in a familiar green glow, as sunlight filtered through the murky water outside their window, Harry glanced at his watch, it was barely six. Stretching until he heard his back crack, Harry clambered from his bed. He padded bare footed down the hallway, sliding into the showers and embracing the familiar scalding temperature. Outside of the shower, Greta was hissing about all of the spiders in the castle, distaste colouring her tone. When Harry finally exited, the green snake wound up his arm once more and the boy and snake ambled back down the hall, hissing a greeting at the passing Draco, who shuddered but didn't respond.

Harry threw open his trunk, pulling out a large text book before settling into bed. Blaise, who was always up from some ridiculously early time in the morning, peered at the cover,

"Animagus Studies?" the boy asked incredulously, "Harry, why?" the boy glanced at him, green eyes eager,

"I got Ancestry tested, and apparently I am capable of becoming one, its a really difficult process, but I reckon I'll be able to master it by my fourth year!" he said, excited, Blaise leaned forwards, eyes flickering over Harry's book curiously,

"Mind if I join you in your study? My test says I'm capable too." he asked, Theodore's curtains were swung open and a bleary eyed boy peered at them from under heavy lids,

"Me too!" he cried drowsily, staggering from bed, "I wanna' become a sheep…" the boy tottered off down the hall, presumably to shower,

"I guess we should ask Draco, too, then." said Harry with a grin, "Make it a group effort." the two boys continued to pore over the text book for several minutes, before Harry pulled out his wand, "Geminus", he tapped the book twice, and another copy appeared, he did the same thing two more times before handing Blaise one of the copies. When Draco and Theo eventually returned, they were each presented with a book and leapt at the opportunity to learn to become animagi.

Eventually the boys went down to breakfast, and were handed their schedules by a scowling Professor Snape. Harry glanced at his before letting out a loud groan, causing people to look at him in surprise,

"Double defence, first period…" he despaired, "I'm too young for this torture." Draco patted him on the shoulder,

"It will all be over soon, my child." he crooned,

"Um, why is defence a bad thing?" came a girl's voice, Harry and Draco looked up to see a girl with black hair tied into a french braid down her shoulder, large blue eyes looked at the boys inquisitively, "Gilderoy Lockhart is meant to be an amazing wizard…"

"Listen here, short stuff." said Draco menacingly, brandishing a finger at the girl, who's brow furrowed in confusion, "I don't know who you've been talking to, but Lockhart is a complete- Daphne!" Draco's aggressive manner disintegrated before the blonde girl, who was looking at the boy's innocent facade with suspicion,

"Hello Draco, you've been talking to my sister, I see." she said,

"Your sister!" he squeaked, looking at the girl he had referred to as 'Short stuff', in alarm. Harry laughed into his breakfast.

"Yeah, Daphne, Draco was telling me what he thought of Lockhart."

"He's a fraud." came a quiet voice from beside Astoria. Harry finally noticed Ginevra Weasley's presence beside the dark haired girl. The two first years had matching braids and the small red headed girl seemed to regret speaking as everyone's attention focused on her.

"What do you mean?" asked Blaise curiously, the girl reluctantly pulled out several Lockhart books from her bag, flipping the pages, she showed them the dates in the books,

"Lockhart's stories all overlap, the dates don't add up and he talks about things that don't exist, like, a spell to cure werewolves and stuff."

"I knew it." Draco sneered, the girl seemed to shrink back but the blonde boy was paying her no attention, "Just wait until my father hears about this, that'll teach him not to force Harry into photoshoots." the table resumed it's previous chatter, before Astoria clambered to her feet,

"We best be getting to class, come on, Ginny." she said. The two girls disappeared from sight and Blaise nudged Harry,

"Longbottom and Granger are staring at us again." he said, "Group death glare in three, two, one," the four boys looked up in sync, giving the two Gryffindors their dirtiest looks.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side…" said Tracy, "That was creepy." The Slytherins got to their feet and together headed down to their defence class.

Lockhart's lesson was even worse then Harry had feared. The man gave them a quiz on himself, laughed at his own jokes, and used Harry for every live action scene in his stories. By the end of the first week, Harry was seriously considering lodging a formal complaint.

The Quidditch try-outs were on the first Sunday of the school year. Harry and Draco wandered down to the quidditch pitch, Nimbus 2001s held tightly in sweaty palms. Upon walking onto the pitch, Harry was overwhelmingly relieved that he had opted to apply for a position as chaser, there was only one other candidate for seeker, Terrance Higgs, but said boy was several years above Draco, and was clearly prepared to defend his position viciously. Draco gulped audibly from beside him. Harry patted him on the shoulder supportively, before going to stand with the other chaser applicants. The Chaser try-outs went first, and each player had to play with two of the previous year's chasers, attempting to score as many goals as possible in three minutes. Harry stepped up to the challenge with a grin, he was beyond confident on the quidditch pitch. His flying skills, which had been great from the first time he touched a broom, had been honed over the summer, and with the added advantage of his broom, he mopped the floor with the competition. He was informed that practise was on Monday and Sunday mornings from six, and he wasn't to be late, before he was sent away. Harry slid into a seat in the stands, and watched with baited breath, as the trials for the seekers were announced. Three snitches were released onto the pitch, before Draco and Higgs were told to catch as many as they could. Whoever caught the most, won the position. Harry sat back to watch the competition, when a bright flash of light made him jump. Harry turned sharply, to see a first year boy sitting beside him with wide eyes, in his hands was the source of the flash, a large camera.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harry asked sharply, irritated at having his photo taken so abruptly. The small boy seemed to bounce on his seat,

"You're Harry Potter!" he squeaked,

"I know I am." Harry said, peering suspiciously at the boy, who was clad in the traditional red and gold of Gryffindor, "But that doesn't mean you can just snap photos without asking." the boy flushed, but his eyes were still wide and eager,

"Sorry." he said, "I'm a muggleborn, you see, and my dad didn't believe me when I said you were at Hogwarts, and I promised I would try and get a picture and-" the boy got faster as he spoke, and Harry blinked, startled,

"It's ok, I guess, just ask next time." he cut the smaller boy off. The small mousy-haired boy nodded frantically, a wide smile overtaking his features,

"In that case," he asked, "would you mind if I took a picture of you smiling?" Harry shrugged, the boy was harmless, he smiled politely at the camera, blinking to clear his vision as the bright light flashed. He glanced at the Quidditch pitch in time to see Draco brandishing two of the three snitches in his opponent's face, whooping in delight. The blonde boy made his way over to Harry, a delighted flush decorating his cheeks,

"I'm on the team!" he cried, as he made his way to Harry, his eyes flickered to the boy beside him and his expression soured slightly, "Is this kid bothering you?" Harry felt his friend's eyes take in the boy's Gryffindor uniform and opened his mouth to answer when the boy said,

"I'm not bothering him, I just wanted a picture, we were having a perfectly normal conversation before you butted in acting all protective." The boy was looking at Draco with intense dislike, and Harry realised that the boy's neutrality towards Harry being in Slytherin was more to do with his celebrity status then a lack of house bias. Draco seemed to make the same connection as a sneer overtook his features,

"Listen here, you little runt-"

"My name is Colin Creevey." the boy cut in, Draco's eyes narrowed and Harry wished he couldn't see the path that his friend's mind was taking, wished he didn't know what Draco was going to say before he said it,

"I don't give a crap what your name is, you filthy little mudblood, who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" Creevey gasped in shock, and Harry wondered in the back of his mind how the boy knew what a mudblood was so early into his stay in the wizarding world, "You come to _our_ quidditch practise, and bother _my_ friends, then get _aggressive_ with me? You're lucky I don't hex you." The blonde boy turned to Harry, "Come on, Harry." he said sharply,

"I… I wasn't bothering him, I just wanted a picture!" the small boy exclaimed, "Harry, tell him I wasn't-" whatever the boy wanted Harry to defend, he would never know, because Harry wordlessly followed Draco from the pitch.

"The nerve of that kid!" Draco cried, once they were out of earshot, "Why, I ought to-"

"I don't like the word mudblood." Harry interrupted, Draco turned to him in surprise, "I more then don't like it, I hate it." he clarified,

"I know you don't, Harry." the blonde boy said apologetically, "Because of your mum and all, but-"

"No, not just because of my mum." Harry but him off again, "Why do you think people hate Slytherin so much? Why do they assume we're dark? Because we continue to entertain these ideas that muggleborns are inferior, all it does is prove to the other houses that we haven't changed." Draco's eyes narrowed angrily and he opened his mouth to retort, but Harry cut him off before he could, "And yes, I know how you feel about them, I'm not exactly fond of muggles either, but whether you like it or not, muggleborns are still part of the wizarding world, and all using words like 'Mudblood' does, is ostracise us." he took a deep breath, the words lifting like a weight from Harry's chest, Draco glowered at the ground sullenly,

"Why are you getting so passionate about this, you heard the way Creevey was talking to me?" Harry stared at his friend, who seemed flushed under the weight of his reprimand, he felt his resolve weaken, this was his _best friend._

"I don't give a crap about Creevey." he said, finally, "And I'm not asking you to give up your beliefs, but surely you can see that words like 'mudblood' do nothing except cut us off from the rest of the school." Draco nodded, but didn't speak again as they walked to their dormitories, he seemed to be lost in thought. The two boys retired to bed silently, and when they awoke, Draco greeted him as though nothing had happened the previous day, but his dark-haired friends words had left a lasting impression on the Malfoy heir.

* * *

 **Whoooo! Ginny is in Slytherin! Most people guessed that that was what was going to happen. Anyways, thanks for reading, please leave a review, let's see who can guess Harry and the gang's animagus forms...!**


	9. Chapter eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

Being sorted into Slytherin had never been on Ginny's to-do list; when the sorting hat, all wise words and _'You'll do great things in Slytherin'_ style encouragement, bellowed out her three-syllable-doom, Ginevra Molly Weasley had felt all of her dreams crumble. Gone, was the companionship of her brothers. Gone, were the proud words of her mother as she joined the ranks of the courageous. Standing before a sea of surprised or neutral faces, Ginny felt lost. From her left, where Gryffindor sat, came a lone boo, Fred. Her other brothers joined in, and several of their fellow Gryffindors followed their lead, a chorus of disapproval. Hot tears of shame stung at the back of her eyes, she was a _Weasley,_ Weasleys always went to Gryffindor. _But Weasleys rarely showed as much cunning and ambition as she did,_ the sorting hat's words reverberated in her mind. With trembling legs, she approached the Slytherin table, most of whom seemed startled but clapped politely nonetheless. Their welcome was practically silent in comparison to the Gryffindor ruckus. Suddenly, there was a loud whoop from the Slytherin table, and the volume increased tenfolds, a boy with bright eyes, hidden behind large frames, and wild hair had stood, clapping her with as much volume as his small frame could muster, _Harry Potter,_ her cheeks flushed uncomfortably. From around him, several other students stood up, their voices adding to his own in their friendly welcome, even Draco Malfoy was cheering, though she doubted there was any real happiness from the blonde boy at her sorting, she knew how Malfoys felt about Weasleys.

Astoria Greengrass was making the loudest noise of them all, and Ginny felt a rush of thankfulness towards the pretty girl who had befriended her on the Hogwarts express. She gestured to an empty seat beside her, and Ginny absently wondered if the girl had saved it specifically for her, knowing she would join Slytherin before she had even considered it, she slid into the chair gratefully. Her cheeks were as bright as her hair, and she stared determinately at the table before her, lest she start crying. The rest of the sorting passed by in a blur, and suddenly, a feast materialised before her. She could barely bring herself to eat anything, her stomach tying painful knots. Astoria glanced at her worriedly, but didn't comment, talking instead to their fellow first years and occasionally attempting to coax her into conversation. Finally, the meal was over and they were escorted back to their common room by two prefects. The room was awe inspiring, dark and mysterious, any other time Ginny would have followed her fellow first years to press their faces against the glass of the window in awe, but instead, she merely remained stood where she was, feeling small and helpless fore the prefects. When they had regained the attention of the first years, one of the prefects, a girl with perfectly curled brown hair, began to speak,

"You have been sorted into Slytherin house due to your cunning, your ambition, and your intelligence. Despite what some may say, to be in Slytherin is an _honour."_ The girl's eyes flicked to Ginny, so fast she almost missed it, "We have standards to uphold, and there are rules that you must follow if you want to remain amongst us. Rule number one: Maintain your grades, we expect excellence from our students, sloppy work will be punished. Rule number two: All arguments between yourself and fellow Slytherins must be kept within the house, there is no fighting outside of these walls, to the other houses, we must maintain a united front." Ginny watched the girl with wide eyes, focusing on the rules that were clearly so vital, when a piece of paper, balled up was pressed into her hand. She glanced behind her to see a sea of neutral faces, whoever passed her the note wasn't visible. She opened it quietly, to see two neatly printed words, _blood traitor._ Her eyes burned and she stared, transfixed, barely hearing the prefect's final comment of, "Keep your language clean outside of the common room, it does no good to go around shouting 'mudblood', whatever your beliefs." these final words broke what little self restraint she had remaining, a tear trickled down Ginny's cheek before she could stop it. The prefect glanced at her, almost sympathetic, but continued as though she hadn't seen it. Ginny's fellow first years began to snicker from behind her and she gulped, hopelessly trying to swallow back the sobs that were steadily rising. A small hand slid into her own, and Ginny glanced to her left, Astoria. The girl was looking ahead, focused on the prefect as she gave directions to the dormitories, and only the clenching of her jaw alerted Ginny to the girl's awareness of her state. The moment the prefect finished talking, Ginny found herself dragged from the mocking eyes of her housemates.

Astoria pulled both of them onto Ginny's bed, shutting the curtains around them, she pulled out her wand, muttering

"Muffliato." at the curtains before she turned to the red-haired girl,

"What was that?" Ginny asked, voice rough,

"It was a sound muffling spell so the others can't hear us, you need to calm down." said the girl, staring at Ginny, "take a deep breath and stop crying." Ginny complied, drawing in a shuddering breath and trying to suppress her tears, once she had sufficiently stifled her tears, Astoria began to speak, "Being in Slytherin is not a bad thing," she said, dark eyes serious, "and despite what you may think, not everyone here is bad." Ginny opened her mouth to protest,

"I don't think-" but Astoria cut her off,

"Oh please, you're a Weasley, I wouldn't be surprised if you were raised knowing the names of all the possible Death-Eater's children." she took the girl's silence as confirmation and continued, "But you need to forget everything that you've been taught right now, because it will only hurt you in the long run. Now, answer me honestly, how much do you know about Pureblood customs?' she asked, Ginny stared at her, confused,

"Nothing, really, my parents said it was outdated and never told me anything about it." she answered finally, Astoria nodded,

"Outdated, maybe, but in Slytherin, it's important. I didn't say anything when we first met, but you're not meant to refer to people by their first name without their permission." Ginny flushed,

"Sorry." she said, realising she had been overfamiliar with the only friend she had, Astoria shook her head,

"Don't worry about it, I would have told you if I didn't want to ally with you, that's what first names mean, that you have each other's backs, friends really. But with other members of our house, you've got to be more careful, I will look into books about pureblood customs for you, if you want. There are probably some in the library we can check out tomorrow, but until then, just try and be as formal as possible with everyone." Ginny nodded, and Astoria continued, "As for the crying, Ginny, that can't happen again. Showing weakness is never acceptable in Slytherin, you can probably get away with it this once, but you mustn't make a habit of it." Ginny nodded shakily, and the girl patted her shoulder sympathetically, "I guess this is really overwhelming for someone raised in a Gryffindor household, will your family be angry?" she asked, Ginny shrugged,

"Maybe, I'm not sure. I'll have to wait and see, I'm more worried about my brothers, they'll see this as the ultimate betrayal." now that her tears were out of the way, Ginny felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, "Thank you, for your help, Astoria, I would have really freaked out if you hadn't…" she trailed of uncomfortably, and her friend nodded,

"It's fine, what are friends for?" she asked, tossing a lock of glossy black hair over her shoulder, "Anyway, goodnight, Ginny." Astoria pulled open the curtains, and clambered off her bed, "Just remember what I said."

"I will," Ginny responded, "Goodnight Astoria." Ginny lay in bed staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours, but was likely only minutes, before sleep dragged her under. She awoke as her watch hit six-forty, and rolled from her blanket cocoon, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Glancing back at her bed, she noticed a book lying at the end, untouched despite her restless sleeping. She picked it up, it was a moderately sized green hard-back, written on the front, in gold letters, were the words, 'Pureblood Customs,' she flipped open the front cover, wondering if Astoria had somehow managed to get her a book overnight, when a note fell out.

 _Dear Ms Weasley,_

 _I am a member of your house, and I know this might seem strange, but I am_

 _only trying to help. This book will teach you pureblood customs, which are a necessity_

 _in Slytherin house. If you follow the rules in the book, then you will do fine. I ask you to_

 _avoid reading this in public, as you will reveal me as the person who helped you to my friends._

 _This could make things difficult for me. Good luck in Slytherin._

 _A friend_

Her eyes scanned the neat handwriting, and a smile pulled at her lips, it seemed that Astoria wasn't her only ally in Slytherin house.

"What's that?" asked said girl, curiously, having just opened her curtains, fully clothed. Ginny passed her the note, and the girl scanned it with her dark eyes before glancing at the book with a smile, "I guess we don't have to go to the library then." she said, Ginny nodded,

"Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" she asked, Astoria nodded in acceptance,

"No problem, you need to get ready, breakfast is soonish, bathroom's down the hall." she said, Ginny nodded, grabbing a towel and a change of clothes before making her way down to the bathroom. She showered quickly and pulled on her uniform, hands fumbling slightly over her Slytherin tie. She emerged from the shower cubicle and was startled to see a girl standing by one of the sinks. She was very pretty, with long brown hair which fell in elegant ringlets, she glanced at Ginny, snorted, then went back to examining her appearance. Ginny ignored her, making her way to the door to return to the dormitory. Her hand was just closing around the door handle when the girl said,

"I guess that Slytherin is letting in any riff-raff off the street nowadays." this stopped Ginny short,

"I'm sorry?' she asked, the girl glanced at her,

"You should be." she said carelessly,

"I have just as much of a right to be here as you do, whatever your name is." Ginny said angrily,

"It's Ca-"

"Did I say I wanted your name? No. You haven't made a good first impression, and I have no interest in learning who you are." Her tone was sharp, Ginny had been raised fighting with her brothers like cats and dogs, if there was one thing she knew how to deal with, it was conflict. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but whatever she was planning on saying was cut off by the slamming of the door, as Ginny left the room. Once outside, Ginny took a deep breath and composed herself, before returning to her room. She greeted Astoria as she entered, before sitting in front of the mirror and beginning to plait her hair, her long braid snaked down her shoulder, and Astoria looked up in interest,

"How do you do that?" she asked, "I'm awful with hair." Ginny tied off her braid before standing and gesturing to the seat she had just vacated,

"I can do the same for you, if you want?" she asked, Astoria nodded eagerly, and slid into the seat. Ginny allowed her fingers to dance through the girl's dark locks. When she was done, the girl admired her hair with a smile,

"Thanks!" she cried, "Now we match." she glanced at her watch, "Breakfast is in about half an hour, I'm going to read for a bit." Ginny decided to do the same, sliding onto her bed and pulling out her new book, 'Pureblood Customs." remembering the note's warning to hide the book, she pulled a removable cover off her transfiguration text book, successfully hiding the book's true identity. She called out to Astoria as her watch hit 7:50, and the two of them wandered down to meet the prefects, who were to escort them to breakfast. As they were lead through the loops and twists of the Hogwarts halls, Ginny wondered how she would ever learn her away around.

They entered the great hall through two large doors, and the enchanted ceiling illuminated the room with cheerful sunlight. She followed Astoria to two available seats, and as she sat, she realised with a lurch that she was sat painfully close to Harry Potter and his friends. The boy was talking in hushed whispers with three of his friends, their heads were close together and she mentally compared them to her twin brothers as they planned a prank. She pried her eyes away from the boy, and spooned some breakfast onto her plate, her lack of sustenance from the previous day hitting her full force. Astoria nudged her as Snape approached, handing out timetables. The man passed her hers without comment, before continuing on his way, as he went around to the other side of the table, the man sneered slightly, before passing Harry his schedule, the boy took it carelessly, muttering a thanks to the man without casting him a second glance. He scanned the paper with wary eyes before he let out a groan, pressing his head into his arms on the table. Beside him, Draco Malfoy glanced at his timetable, before grinning and patting his friend on the shoulder sympathetically. Ginny couldn't help but notice how different the blonde boy seemed, to the sneering figure she had met in Flourish and Blotts and she wondered if it was Ron who had inspired such a reaction. The two began began to bemoan having Defence as their first class, when Astoria spoke up,

"Um, why is defence a bad thing?" she asked, the two boys glanced at her, any Ginny marvelled at the girl's ease at joining a conversation, "Gilderoy Lockhart is meant to be an amazing wizard…"

"Listen here, short stuff." Malfoy sneered, he pointed a pale finger at Astoria, Ginny worried for half a second that he was genuinely angry at her friend, but Astoria seemed relatively comfortable, so she forced herself to relax, "I don't know who you've been talking to, but Lockhart is a complete- Daphne!" The boy focused on Daphne Greengrass, who Ginny had met on the train, his character transformation taking her by surprise completely, it was almost as though the Malfoy heir was scared of her.

"Hello Draco, you've been talking to my sister, I see." she said,

"Your sister!" he squeaked, glancing at Astoria in panic, Ginny's head shot up as she heard Harry laugh, the boy's eyes danced as he sniggered, and she felt her face warm automatically,

"Yeah, Daphne, Draco was telling me what he thought of Lockhart."

"He's a fraud." Ginny heard the words leave her mouth before she registered them, Harry- no, Potter (second names only, she reminded herself) had his bright green eyes focused on her, and she momentarily forgot the words in her mouth. Her face reddened in embarrassment, and she glanced away.

"What do you mean?" asked a boy with dark, curly hair. Ginny vaguely recognised him as one of Potter's friends, she reluctantly pulled out several Lockhart books from her bag, flipping the pages, she showed them the dates in the books. She had read all of her texts, determined to beat her brother's grades,

"Lockhart's stories all overlap, the dates don't add up and he talks about things that don't exist, like, a spell to cure werewolves and stuff." she said, it was common sense, and she was surprised more people hadn't noticed the gaping holes in the man's tales.

"I knew it." Draco sneered, for a moment, Ginny thought it was directed at her, but the boy was no longer even looking at her, much to her relief, "Just wait until my father hears about this, that'll teach him not to force Harry into photoshoots." the table resumed it's previous chatter, before Astoria clambered to her feet,

"We best be getting to class, come on, Ginny." she said, Ginny followed her from the hall, taking a final forlorn glance in Harry's direction. She remembered stories from her childhood about the young hero, he was the object of much discussion in the Weasley household, and he fascinated her, her brother wasn't wrong to say that she had developed a crush on him, but seeing him amongst his friends alerted her to how little she actually knew him. Their first class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. They were several minutes early and were the first to enter the classroom, a large tabby cat was sat at the front of the room. They slid into two seats in the back of the room, Ginny grabbed the window seat, allowing her somewhere to gaze, as Astoria sat down, the dark haired girl let out a sigh,

"I spoke to him…" she said, Ginny furrowed her brow,

"Who?" she asked, Astoria rolled her eyes,

" _Draco Malfoy!"_ she said, "I'm going to marry that boy." she tilted her head back, a smile playing on her lips, "I just know it."

"Why?" asked Ginny, whilst not unpleasant, she didn't see why someone would want to marry Malfoy, of all people. Astoria seemed affronted by the question,

" _Why?"_ She parroted, "Because he's perfect." The dark haired girl refused to say any more as students began to file into the room, taking up seats. She flushed crimson when the large tabby transformed into their Professor McGonagall, "Do you think she heard?" she asked, slightly panicked. Ginny told her that she doubted it, though she privately didn't think the teacher could have missed their words, they weren't exactly quiet. Their first class was interesting, Professor McGonagall was a good teacher, and Ginny felt a rush of delight to be the first person to turn her matchstick into a needle. Astoria peered at her work in slight jealousy,

"How did you do that?" Ginny tried to explain, and watched her friend attempt the spell. Their hard work was rewarded as Astoria's matchstick flickered and finally became a needle. They were awarded five points each for their work, the Transfiguration teacher gracing them with a rare nod of approval as she passed. The two left her lesson in high spirits, before loosing all of their energy as they filed into History of Magic, something Ginny promptly decided was the worst class ever, the professor being unbelievably boring. Their day passed well, potions being a silent affair, where Snape pretended she didn't exist whilst focusing all his ire at Colin Creevey, a boy in Gryffindor who shared their class, the boy failed a pop quiz at the beginning of the lesson, and was clearly the teacher's new verbal punching bag.

It was only at the after dinner that Ginny's day took a turn for the terrible. Her brothers, Fred, George, Ron and Percy Weasley stood waiting for her by the doors as she exited. She told Astoria to head on without her, and allowed herself to be lead to an unused classroom to talk to her siblings. She had always been close with her brother Ron, but the moment they were out of sight of other students, the youngest of her brothers stepped away from her as though she had the plague.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" asked Percy, his dark eyes, so unlike the blue orbs of her other brothers, glaring down on her accusingly, "First you get sorted into Slytherin, then-"

"You hang out with Death Eaters in training like _Malfoy._ " Ron butted in, the boy's eyes were angry as he glared at her and Fred and George seemed to be waiting for her to offer an excuse for her behaviour. She had hoped for them to ask about her welfare, check to see if she was alright, not quiz her on the company she was keeping. She felt herself stiffen and clenched her jaw, she understood their distrust, hell, mere days ago she had been of a similar mindset, but it was still unpleasant to be at the receiving end of their judgment.

"Not all Slytherins are Death Eaters in training, you know?" she snapped, "Or have you forgotten that Harry Potter, who defeated the Dark Lord is in Slytherin, too?" Ron's expression darkened further,

"Potter is in a category of his own, he's practically a Dark Lord in training." Ginny's back straightened as she opened her mouth to retort, but Fred beat her to it,

"Whilst Ronny here is over-exaggerating, Potter is a nasty little git." he said, rolling his eyes at his brother's dramatics.

"We just don't want you to get involved with the wrong sorts of people, Gin…" said George, bright eyes concerned, Ginny felt her resolve soften.

"I'm not." she replied, "I don't mind Slytherin, I have Astoria, she's the best." a rush of fondness shot through her at the thought of the girl who was promptly becoming her closest friend.

"Astoria Greengrass?" said Ron incredulously,

"The Greengrasses are a very dangerous family." Percy agreed, "It would be best if you steered clear of them." Ginny's anger slammed back full force.

"What right do you have, telling me who I can and can't be friends with?" she brandished her wand threateningly, and her brothers eyed it warily, they knew better then to underestimate her.

"As your elder brothers-" said Percy imperiously,

"The same brothers who booed my sorting?" she sneered.

"We are sorry about that, Ginny…" Fred said, looking distinctly uncomfortable, "It was a stupid joke and we didn't mean for everyone to join in."

"Yeah, we're really sorry." George said. Ginny's sneer only grew,

"Well act like you're sorry, don't try and dictate who I hang out with."

"Wipe that look of your face!" Ron snapped, "You've been a Slytherin for one and a half days and already you're starting to look like Malfoy."

"Well you've been in Gryffindor for a year and one and a half days and you _still_ look like a snivelling little-"

"Ginny." cut off Percy, "That's enough!"

"You're right." she sassed, "It is enough." she turned and stalked from the room, anger simmering just under her skin. She stomped to the Slytherin dormitories, almost surprised she found her way there without incident. It was almost curfew. With a huff, she stomped to her dormitory, she paused outside the door and took a deep breath before quietly opening it. The room was dark, her dorm-mates clearly already asleep. Ginny made her way purposefully towards her trunk, she needed to vent. Over the summer, her mother had purchased her a diary, leaving it amongst her stuff quietly, as her mother often did. Small, inconspicuous gifts were common from Molly Weasley, who doted upon her only daughter. Ginny had written in it over the summer, delighted and surprised to find that it wrote back, taking the form of a boy called Tom Riddle. During the past few days leading to her sorting, she had been too excited to touch the black notebook, but now, with anger burning her fingertips, she threw it open, planning on telling her pen-friend all her woes. She touched her quill to the paper and that was the last thing she remembered.

The next day, Ginny awoke in her bed, fully clothed. She must have fallen asleep whilst writing, she couldn't quite recall. She tugged off her robes, planning on changing into a clean uniform after a shower, but what she saw made her freeze. Her school shirt, previously pristine white, had a large red stain on it, _paint?_ Ginny ran a hand through her hair, confused, before something caught between her fingers, a feather, now she was looking, there were more clinging to her cloak. She stared at them, baffled, before reaching out to grab her shirt; bringing the fabric to her nose, she took in a deep breath. It smelled metallic, bringing forth memories of scabbed knees and rusty keys, _blood._ She dropped the soft material, and watched as it fell to the floor with a gently thwump, _how…?_ Her stomach churned anxiously, before she quickly walked down to the bathrooms. Her face greeted her in the mirror, she looked the same as ever. She tilted her head to the left, to the right, _there._ A red smear on her neck, more blood. She jumped into the shower, trying to scrub off the stain. Fear made her movements fast and frantic, where had it come from? The hot water calmed her frazzled senses, though the worry still lingered. Eventually she was calm enough to return to her room. She balled up her shirt, pushing it to the bottom of her trunk, before writing with a trembling hand:

 _Dear Tom_

 _I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there. There's blood on me too. I'm afraid._

* * *

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	10. Chapter nine

CHAPTER NINE

The smell was atrocious, and the first thing Harry smelt upon stepping into his dormitory. He brought his sleeve-covered hand up to his nose in an attempt to dampen the overpowering stench. Behind him, his friends skidded to a halt, coughing.

"What is that?" asked Draco, eyes watering slightly, Harry shrugged, stepping further into their room. At first glance, nothing was different to normal, but the air seemed to crackle with tension.

"Did you leave food lying around again?" Blaise asked Theodore accusingly,

"No way, this has nothing to do with me!" the boy cried incredulously. Harry and Draco were scanning the beds, looking for the source of the smell when Draco paused, wrinkling his nose,

"Guys, it's way stronger over here." he said, gesturing to outside the bathroom door, which was slightly ajar, "It's coming from in there." the four boys huddled outside the door for a few seconds, before Harry nudged it with his foot causing it to creak open. The bathroom, too, looked relatively normal, though the smell was definitely worse from in the small lavatory. Harry suddenly darted forwards with a panicked hiss. His friends looked at him, alarmed, but Harry was already on his knees, cradling something stiff and unmoving, he was murmuring frantically, eyes wide. He looked up at his friends and hissed something, before trying again, his words coming out in English on the second attempt.

"The smell is Greta!" he said, "Grass snakes release an odour when they are panicked, it's a basic defence mechanism. Something's happened to her." The green snake, which was nearly always on Harry's person, hung stiff has a rod as the boy clutched it in sweaty palms,

"Madam Pomfrey?" Theodore suggested, Harry nodded, eyes slightly glazed. Blaise grabbed the stunned boy's arm, and they began to make their way to the hospital wing. As they walked, some of the life began to return to Harry and he broke into a jog, which developed into a full sprint as he skidded through the hospital wing doors,

"Madam Pomfrey!" he bellowed, "This is a matter of great urgency!" the matron stepped out of her office, clearly irritated at the manner in which she had been summoned, but Harry couldn't bring himself to care about his rudeness. "Please, Ms, my snake, Greta! Something or someone attacked her in my dormitory, and she's frozen stiff, please tell me she's not-" the boy's voice cracked slightly, and Madam Pomfrey, who had been about to snap that she wasn't a vet, took pity on the boy. Prying the snake from the trembling child's hands, she ran her wand over it, and what she saw made her eyes widen.

"Mr Potter, do you have any idea what it was that or whom attacked your snake, where was she when you found her?" she asked,

"The boys bathroom." he said, "I have no idea what hurt her, but can she be fixed?" he trailed a finger along Greta's smooth scales,

"Your snake-"

"Her name is Greta."

"Greta has been petrified, this is very high-level magic which, whilst curable, requires a particular potion which takes many months to prepare." Madam Pomfrey said, gently. Harry nodded,

"Can it be purchased?" he asked, "So I could have her fixed within the week?" the woman shook her head,

"Whilst I am sure that there are people who you can buy the necessary potion from, their services are illegal and unreliable. Second hand potions are never worth the risk." she said, Harry frowned,

"Would _you_ be able to produce the potion?" he asked, "If I bought the necessary materials…"

"Mr Potter, I am not a potions master, and the potion required is far beyond my capabilities, however, Professor Snape may agree to it if you ask him." any dreams Harry had of regaining Greta's company crumbled at these words, the man hated him.

"Will Greta stay like this? Does she need food or any form of sustenance? How do I feed her?" he asked, the matron peered at him,

"No, your snake needs nothing whilst she is like this, it is quite literally as though she is frozen in the state she was in at the point of her attack, she is in a form of coma." Harry nodded in relief, before sliding Greta into his robes. Her scales were cold on his skin and he repressed a shudder,

"Mr Potter, please do talk to Professor Snape rather then seeking your own form of cure." the woman said, sternly, Harry ignored her plea, asking instead,

"What could have done this?" The matron looked at him with dark brown eyes, and Harry saw the answer in the depths, _she didn't know._

Harry's next few weeks passed in a haze of library visits. Between each class he was found secluded away, poring over text books as he desperately tried to figure out how to undo the petrification on Greta. He had a list of creatures that could petrify, as well as several recipes for the mandrake draught, each immensely complicated and well beyond his potions ability. His friends joined him at first, searching with him, but eventually they decided to take shifts checking up on their friend who seemed to have lost all sense of moderation. It was several weeks before Halloween that there was finally some progress. Mrs Norris, the cat of Argus Filtch, was found, hanging by her tail, petrified below a message written in blood,

 _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened_

 _Enemies of the heir, beware_

Harry had thrown himself to the front of the crowd of buzzing students as Dumbledore unhooked the cat from the wall.

"Professor!" he called, his friends tailed him, roughly pushing several students out of the way as they did so, "Professor, is she petrified?" that caught the headmaster's attention, his blue eyes shot to look at Harry, devoid of their usual twinkle,

"Return to your dorms." The man said, turning to the crowd, "Mr Potter, remain behind." Draco, Blaise and Theodore exchanged a look, silently agreeing to remain as well. Dumbledore glanced at them but decided not to comment on their apparent disobedience, he focused instead on Harry, who's eyes were shadowed with the purple bruises of sleep deprivation. "Mr Potter, may I ask how you came to know what petrification is, and how you were aware that it was the fate of Mrs Norris?" despite the neutral tone, there was an underlying suspicion that had the Slytherin's hackles raised.

"It wasn't him, if that's what you're implying." Draco sneered, "We've been with him this whole time. So-"

"Draco." Harry silenced him, green eyes imploring him to hold his tongue before he returned to the headmaster, who's face seemed slightly more relaxed, Harry reached into his cloak, pulling Greta from the folds of black fabric. "Headmaster, please, my snake, Greta, was petrified four weeks ago. I've been trying to figure out what did it! What's the Chamber of Secrets? Can you help her?" the headmaster slid the snake from Harry's grip gently, eyes appraising the stiff form of the serpent.

"How did you come across a snake, Mr Potter?" he asked, ignoring the boy's speech, Harry shrugged,

"She's been my pet since the start of the year, sir, can you help her?" he repeated, the man peered at Harry, eyes questioning, before he said,

"Professor Snape will be making a potion to cure Mrs Norris, it will take several months, but we will administer it to your snake at the same time. Mr Potter, how did you get a pet snake?" the man asked once more. Harry, who had relaxed at the promise of treatment for Greta, smiled faintly,

"She was wild on Theodore's land, I picked her up, and she let me keep her."

"She _let_ you? Mr Potter can you talk to snakes?" Dumbledore asked, Harry blinked, green eyes curious,

"People can talk to snakes?" he asked, "No sir, I just meant that she didn't bite me." the headmaster didn't seem convinced, but he let the issue slide. Behind him, Harry's friends let out a breath or relief.

"Return to your common room, boys." the man said, eyes tired, the four knew better then to argue. They went to bed almost straight away when they got in. Harry was the most exhausted, stress leaving him sleep deprived, yet he couldn't remain in his bed for more then a couple of hours. He rolled from his tangle of sheets at nearly three in the morning, padding down to the common room, sock clad feet silent on the stone. The fire was still crackling in the corner, and Harry slid into an armchair, letting out a soft sigh before he realised that he wasn't alone.

Ginevra Weasley was curled at the end of a sofa. Her soft brown eyes, almost red in the light of the fire, rested on him curiously.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, Harry shook his head,

"Bad dreams, you?" he asked,

"I'm afraid to sleep." she responded, voice quiet. In the corner, the flames suddenly flared higher, painting the room with wild, dancing shadows, "I don't know what state I'll be in when I wake up." Harry's brow furrowed, confused as he looked at the red-head.

"What do you mean?" he asked, she shook her head,

"Bad things happen when I close my eyes. I'm sorry about your snake, by the way, I heard she was petrified." she said,

"Who did you hear that from?" Harry asked, "Barely anyone knows." Ginevra's face crumpled,

"I don't know how I know." she said, voice slightly hysterical, "I don't know what's happening, I can't-" she broke off, breathing raggedly, "I can't remember _anything."_

Harry awoke in a cold sweat. He was in his bed, glancing at his watch, he realised it was almost seven. His head was pounding as he staggered to the bathroom. He peered at his reflection in the mirror absently, his head still filled with his strange dream, but took a double take at the sight of himself. Drawn and haggard, he looked the same as he had the day before, except for his scar. The blemish, usually a pale pink, was a vivid red, almost wet and painfully fresh looking. He splashed some cold water on his face, and allowed his fringe to fall back over the scar, which throbbed softly.

"Harry, mate, you look bloody awful." said Theodore, catching sight of him as he returned to their dorm. Harry grunted, collapsing onto his bed.

"It's Saturday, right?" he asked,

"Yeah…" came Theodore's response,

"Then I'm going back to bed." Harry decided, shutting his curtains with a sharp movement.

* * *

Ginny woke up with a splitting headache. She had been having a vivid dream, one that she couldn't quite remember. Clambering from her bed, she shuddered at the cold stone on her bare feet. She grabbed her cloak, sliding it around her shoulders. She buried her frozen fingers in the pockets as she tried to regain some of her lost heat, and her fingers closed around parchment. Her heart lurched, for several weeks, she had been finding notes. They were tucked into her textbooks, dropped into her pockets, even under her pillow. She unfolded the latest one.

 _Go home, freak._

She bit back a reaction, unsure whether a laugh or a sob would escape her lips if she allowed it. She showered quickly, pulling open Astoria's curtains to tell her it was almost breakfast time. The girl was lying on her stomach, filling in a quiz on 'Which witch she was most like.' At the sight of Ginny, the girl flushed, pushing the magazine off her bed in a weak attempt to disguise what she had been doing. Ginny snorted, but decided against commenting,

"Breakfast?" she asked, Astoria nodded in agreement and the two girls headed down. They sat quietly, both unusually subdued until several Slytherin boys entered. Ginny allowed her eyes to follow them; Zabini, Nott and Malfoy, _where was Potter?_ Ginny repeated her mental question to Astoria, and the girl, who took any opportunity to talk to Malfoy, called out to him,

"Malfoy, where's Potter at?" the boy glanced at her,

"Why do you care?" he asked, Astoria shrugged.

"Curiosity." she said, the boy opened his mouth to retort once more, but Nott, looking exhausted, cut him off,

"Harry is ill, he's staying on in bed." Astoria nodded, before returning to her breakfast without comment. Ginny frowned as she gulped down her bacon, which tasted like sawdust in her mouth. A tap on her shoulder broke her from the monotonous task of eating. She turned, to see Ron standing behind her uncomfortably,

"Ginny, could I speak to you in private?" he asked, Ginny slid from her seat without a word, following her big brother from the hall. It seemed she was in for a run in with all of her brothers once more.

"Listen Ginny," Ron said, uncomfortably, "I was thinking about it, and I guess… What I mean to say is, I'm sorry I was an awful git, the others are sorry too, but we thought we ought to apologise individually…" Ginny stared at Ron in surprise for several long seconds, the boy's cheeks were as red as his hair by the time she finally threw herself forwards, pulling him into a tight hug. She had missed her brother, despite how much he had upset her, family was family. She sniffed,

"So you're not going to try and tell me who I can and can't be friends with?" she asked, Ron smiled weakly,

"No, but don't expect me to be all buddy buddy with Potter and his gang just because they're in your house. I still hate him." Ginny shrugged, she didn't have much to do with said boys,

"I would't expect any less from you." she said, fondly. Her day passed with the delight from her reconciliation with her brother hanging over her like a friendly cloud. She retired to bed with a smile on her face. The next day, she had an encounter with Percy, who went through his own, clearly practised, apology. On the third day, the twins dramatically pleaded for her forgiveness, which she gave them with a laugh and two tight hugs. The whole thing made her so happy, that for a week, she was too blissed out to even think about writing in her diary. By doing so, she unknowingly irked the soul of a Dark Lord, trapped in a diary for fifty years.

Tom Riddle was anything but patient. The small black book, which had called to Ginny from the first time she touched it, suddenly had a drag to it, Ginny was compelled to write across it's pages. At first, the urge was weak enough to resist, but soon, Ginny crumbled, feeling the claws of desire drag her to the notebook. After a week and a half of silence, Tom Riddle leapt the eleven year old girl like a starved man leaping at the first meal he had seen in months, and the girl was dragged under before she could finish the word, 'Dear'

She awoke the next morning feeling more exhausted then when she had fallen asleep, and was informed by Professor McGonagall, that her brother, Ron, was in the hospital wing, petrified. She sobbed into her pillow for the next few nights, her diary consoling her with it's sweet words, and the notes continued to arrive from her anonymous enemy, driving her further and further into herself as the days went on.

She felt truly alone.

* * *

 **I know it's a short chapter, the next one will be longer to make up for it. I hope you like!**

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	11. Chapter ten

CHAPTER TEN

Theodore Nott was acting very strange, Harry noted. So, for that matter, was Tracy Davis. Draco had noticed it too, judging by his furrowed brow and overall confused expression. The two had been located after the Christmas feast, which was, in itself a surprise as Harry and Draco had seen them get onto the Hogwarts express earlier that day. They had also forgotten the password to the common room ('pureblood'), and looked distinctly uncomfortable, perched on a dark green sofa opposite them. They were seated very close together, shoulders touching in a way that neither of them would have allowed usually and seemed to be struggling to find something to say. Harry threw himself onto the carpet dramatically, pulling out a deck of cards for exploding snap, and Draco followed him, pulling on a pair of goggles that Harry was sure were against the rules. As the two played, Tracy toyed with the fabric of the armchair anxiously, watching them with some trepidation.

"So… What do you guys think about the whole chamber of secrets business?" she finally asked. Draco accidentally tipped the pile of cards, leaning back as an explosion singed off half of his left eyebrow,

"I hope they get Granger next." he said casually, Harry snorted; whether at his friend's comment, or the sight of him lacking an eyebrow was unknown, but Tracy's grip tightened on the arm of the sofa nonetheless and Theodore looked distinctly unamused.

"He's kidding…" Harry said with a raised eyebrow, "Though, I wouldn't mind seeing Creevey hospitalised for a bit. The little git is tailing me all the time nowadays."

"He's just eleven!" Tracy snapped. Both Harry and Draco were peering up at the girl in confusion now,

"Tracy, you hexed him the other day." Draco reminded her,

"Deservingly, of course. He should watch his mouth, but still…" Harry prompted, worried further when the girl's cheeks flushed pink, Tracy was flustered, no Slytherin got _flustered._

"I guess. But petrification is awful." she said.

"Any guesses as to who this 'Heir' is?" Theodore asked, cutting of Tracy (another non-Slytherin action, Harry and Draco noted).

"No. You know we don't." Harry said, irritably.

"You think if we knew, we would be sitting here, after the Greta incident?" Draco asked incredulously. Confusion flickered across Tracy and Theo's faces and the former opened her mouth, pausing when Theo squeezed her arm warningly. Harry suddenly paled,

"Wait! I know what's going on!" he cried, he was on his feet in an instant, wand pointed accusingly at the two, who scrabbled away from him in panic.

"it's not what you think!" Theodore said worriedly, Harry snorted,

"I think it is! You guys are dating!" Draco followed Harry to his feet with a yell of;

"That explains everything! They are sitting close together, staying with each other for Christmas. Tracy is even acting like a _girl_ , and pretending to care about eleven year olds!" he clapped dramatically, the two high-fived and Tracy and Theodore glanced at each other with gazes of pure horror, faces flushing pink,

"No… we're not-" began Theodore, but Tracy cut him off with a yelp, she yanked him away from the two boys with a cry of,

"You guys got it! We're going to go… uh, kiss!" she said, pulling her Theodore from the common room. Harry and Draco laughed at their retreating forms, so caught up in their amusement that they didn't see Tracy's straight hair begin to curl, or Theo's eyes flicker from icy blue to a wide brown as they darted off.

The two were beyond perplexed when their friends didn't return the next day, coming up with several conspiracy theories about their whereabouts. They were further surprised to hear from professor McGonagall that their friends had supposedly _never_ returned to Hogwarts.

The Weasley children also remained at Hogwarts for Christmas. Ginny had signed the form saying that she was staying with a trembling hand. She was unsure if she could have chosen not to, by this point. Tom's grip was like an ice cold fist around her throat. Her brothers hadn't wanted to leave her alone during the dangerous times, choosing to stay with her. She wished they hadn't. Since Ron had been petrified, she had been avoiding her brothers like the plague. Their absence was painful, but the weight of the diary in her pocket kept her away. She _was responsible_ for the attacks. She could feel it in her bones, but she couldn't tell anyone, her mouth would open, but no words would escape. She was made painfully aware of the grip that Tom had upon her when she tried to dispose of the diary. She stood for a good five minutes, frozen; peering into the toilet cistern. Her hand was poised to drop the black book, yet her fingers wouldn't unclench and her breath came out in shallow gasps. When she finally gave up, she ran from the bathroom, tears blurring her vision. She lobbed the book into the wall of her dormitory, shrieking into her pillow. Her eyes burned with tears that wouldn't fall. Astoria had noticed her becoming more and more withdrawn as time went on, and expressed concern, only to be brushed off.

"Ginny, what's going on?" she had asked gently, after Ginny had decided against going to lunch in favour of reading one Saturday before the Christmas holidays. Ginny had shrugged hair flopping over her face as she avoided eye contact.

"Nothing." she responded finally, "I'm just busy." Astoria had stomped angrily, black-heeled school shoe snapping against the stone floor, drawing Ginny's gaze to her once more. The dark-haired girl's face was flushed and scowling,

"Busy my foot!" she sneered, "What's with you? You're never around anymore! You're meant to be my friend but I never see you." Ginny swallowed the lump rising in her throat and forced her voice to sound bored as she responded,

"I don't have to spend every second with you." her voice was slightly chilly and Astoria recoiled slightly, "I have my own life."

"I know, but I'm worried about you, Ginny." she said finally, her dark eyes slightly pleading as she gazed at her friend, "You're not eating, you're really pale and you hardly talk anymore."

"I talk." Ginny said, bitter words coming unbidden from her lips, "Just not to you." Astoria breathed in sharply, dark eyes narrowing,

"You can't just- fine, Weasley. Be that way. You're on your own." She stalked from the room, and Ginny stared blankly at the diary lying on the bed in front of her, she couldn't even bring herself to cry, merely lay back, gazing at the canopy of her bed for what felt like hours, before sleep dragged her under.

From then on Ginny spent her days, her classes and mealtimes without her friend. The girl's absence only furthered the chill residing in her bones, and she carried on robotically, the black outs that claimed her at random times, just another part of her schedule. It was only on the 28th of December, upon finding herself crouched over Colin Creevey's frozen form, that she fully broke down.

Creevey was never somebody who she liked, casually spouting his anti-Slytherin beliefs, that he had clearly culminated in the first hour of being in a solely Gryffindor compartment on the train on his way to school, he had made her life unpleasant. But she hadn't wanted him petrified. His skin was cold to the touch, camera held over his eyes, and mouth slightly ajar. Ginny trailed her fingers over his neck, searching, scrabbling for a pulse. She let out a sob of relief to feel one, faint as it may have been. Having felt that the boy was still alive, she staggered to her feet, running as fast as she could to put as much distance between herself and the victim, _her victim,_ as she possibly. It was as she was rounding the corner to her common room, face flushed and breaths laboured, that she slammed into another figure. Harry Potter let out a yelp as his books were sent flying from his hands and he was knocked to the floor by a small cannonball of a Slytherin.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" he snapped, dusting himself off before beginning to get to his feet. He paused as he caught sight of the expression of his assailant. Ginny's eyes were glossy, face red and slightly sweaty. She looked a sight, and Harry felt a lurch of guilt in his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked, voice softer. He held out a hand to pull the girl from the floor, which she ignored, clambering up unassisted.

"I'm fine." she half snarled, but the overall effect was ruined by how pathetically defeated she looked at that very moment. Harry frowned,

"You don't look fine." he was blunt, and Ginny forced herself to meet his eyes. They were a very bright green, and she, for half a second, deliberated over whether to tell the boy, if she was physically able to. Harry Potter was her childhood idol, his sorting into Slytherin had somewhat tainted the dream figure she had created, yet she could hardly talk about not living up to expectations. She was the first Weasley in centuries to go to the house of the serpents, it was this thought that spurred her.

"Help me, please." her voice shook and she physically felt a pressure on her vocal chords, suffocating her, but she carried on nonetheless, "I swear I can't control this… thing but Colin Creevey is petrified and I think I did it and-" Harry Potter's eyes widened and his mouth gaped slightly, whatever he had been expecting, this wasn't it. Ginny had half a second to wonder if she had done the right thing before her consciousness shut down, and her wand was pulled prom her pocket, pointed at Potter's heart.

"Very well. If the girl wishes to push the issue, you, Mr Potter, are coming with me… I've heard all about you…"

When Draco awoke to find Harry's bed vacated, he assumed his friend was in the library. This assumption meant that the absence of the two missing students wasn't noticed until several hours after Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley had been taken into the chamber.

 **Hey, I know that this is really, really late, but I've been having a really bad case of writers block which I have finally overcome. Frequent updates will return, I swear. Sorry this is shorter then my normal updates... Please review! I need** **opinions!**


	12. Chapter eleven

Chapter 11

The sky hung dark and dismal as a sobbing Mrs Weasley was escorted into Professor Dumbledore's office, her shell-shocked husband following close behind. The youngest of the Weasley brood had been missing for five hours. Given the previous petrifications, the Hogwarts staff were inclined to expect the worst. It wasn't long before Lucius Malfoy stalked into the room, white faced son at his side, eying Dumbledore accusingly as he demanded to know the location of his son's friend. Only the severity of the situation stopped the two families, who were normally at each other's throats, from fighting. In fact, the Malfoy and Weasley family were united in their anger at the headmaster.

"The staff of Hogwarts are doing everything they possibly can to ensure the safety of our students." the headmaster said, voice tired as he removed his glasses and polished them on his robe sleeve.

"Why weren't students sent home after the first petrification?" Mr Weasley snapped, his cheeks ruddy with rage.

"Arthur…" Began Dumbledore, his blue eyes deprived of their usual twinkle as he sadly gazed upon his ex pupil, "We believed-"

"Don't you 'Arthur' me!" the man was practically frothing at the mouth, "these petrifactions have been going on for four months, and we only learnt about them after our youngest son was petrified. What about this was not of parental concern?"

"And now whoever's doing this has taken Ginevra too!" Mrs Weasley chimed in, "She was all alone in Slytherin and now her and that boy are missing! For all we know, _he_ was the one petrifying students and took her!"

"Harry would never do that!" Draco pushed into the conversation with eyes flashing ice, "It's just as likely to have been your daughter doing the petrifications as Harry, and more then likely it was nether of them!" Lucius Malfoy looked at the situation with a clinical eye. He had never intended for the Potter boy to become mixed up in the diary related attacks. Though the Weasley girl's life meant little to him, he would go as far as to say he cared for the Potter boy, and judging by the close friendship between his son and the chit, his death was not an option.

"Now, now, Draco…" he said placatingly, resting a hand on his son's shoulder,

"But father-" the boy began, Lucius' grip tightened,

"I said enough." Draco didn't miss the command in his father's voice, falling obediently silent. "Let's not point the blame at anywhere but where it belongs." he said, voice hard as he looked at Dumbledore, "We ought to have been informed after the first attack that there was a threat to the children's welfare. I do not appreciate hearing by letter from my son that his best friend has gone missing, nor that it took hours for the missing student's disappearances to be noticed. The aurors should have been contacted instantaneously, as this is clearly dark magic. The board of governors will hear about this!"

* * *

The prison cell that Tom Marvolo Riddle had neatly crafted in Ginerva Weasley's mind was small and grey, with a barred window that the consciousness of Ginny peered from, wane and defeated. Her cries resonated in the tiny room, and her physical body, the one that was now lying on the floor of the Chamber of secrets, twitched slightly, hand closing tight around another's in a spasm that sent only the smallest of movements through her arm. White fingers clutched at Harry's, stone cold and desperate in their movement. The smallest of protests that the corporeal form of Tom Riddle paid no mind as he monologued to the boy-who-lived.

"So you see…" he said, pacing with steps that made no sound on the glistening floor, "Voldemort is my past, present and future." he painted his name in the air, glowing red letters that rearranged to form the moniker of the dark lord. Harry sneered at him,

"How old are you? Eight? We did anagrams in primary school." His hands were bound in ropes so tight that they left cuts on his skin, and they tightened as Tom hissed,

" _Insolence._ " Harry frowned,

"That wasn't English…" he informed the man, who smirked,

"Yes, fitting that only I, the heir of Slytherin, should speak the noble tongue of the serpents." Tom Riddle was partial to bragging, Harry noticed, as he rolled his eyes and said,

"let me repeat myself, _that wasn't english._ " the parseltongue slid from his lips mockingly, and the Dark-Lord-to-be recoiled, before a smirk flitted across his face,

"How interesting." he murmured, "But let this small talk be over, tell me, boy, how was it that you were able to overcome the Greatest Wizard of all time, when you were a mere babe?" the man was looking at Harry with hungry eyes, and the boy felt sweat drip from his brow as he evaded the question,

"You're not the greatest wizard of all time." He said, "Dumbledore is better then you, and I'm sure there are others who could mop the floor with-"

" _Do not mock me, child!_ " the man snarled, shaking his head as though to clear his thoughts, before spinning to face a large stone statue situated behind him, "Enough of this tomfoolery, you are useless if you will not answer my questions. _Come to me, servant to greatest of the Hogwarts' four._ " Tom Riddle turned to Harry once more, eyes glittering like gemstones in the eery green light as he called, "let's match the power of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Slytherin, with the famous Harry Potter." a cruel smile upturned his lips as his final words rang out.

At this moment, two things happened; the mouth of the statue began to creak open, to reveal a gaping tunnel from which a large serpent came forth: and a voice screamed in Harry's mind,

" _Don't look into it's eyes_ ". Harry didn't have time to ponder over the fact that Ginny Weasley, who was lying lifeless beside him, had been able to send him a voicemail that made his head ache from sheer intensity of volume, before he was on his feet and obeying the girl's command, sprinting down the nearest pipe, ropes ripping off his arms in tatters.

Adrenaline made him fast as he scrambled, blood roaring in his ears as scales on stone followed him. There was an angry hissing, a voice that rang out

" _so hungry, so… so hungry"_ a sob wrenched from his lips, unbidden, as sweat trickled over his eyes and he rounded another corner. Finally, he slid through a small gap between two pipes, pausing to catch his breath. There was complete silence expect for his ragged gasps, _where was the snake?_ Suddenly, there was an wild shriek, which joined in an awful harmony with a high, trilling song. Harry's hands covered his ears instantly, and he almost leapt from his skin as something soft landed in his lap. He frantically shoved the thing away from him, only to peer closer, perplexed, _the sorting hat?_ Harry lifted the raggedy thing with clammy hands, jamming it over his head,

"Help me… Please help!" he though desperately, hoping against hope that there was some way he could contact the headmaster. The hat remained inanimate, and Harry was about to throw it off in despair, when something hard clanked down on his head. He pulled the hat off, reaching inside to pull out a blade. It was long and sleek, adorned with a single green gem just before the hilt. Slanting letters were faintly printed along the side, not english, but something much older. He could barely recognise the word Slytherin, in lettering that he knew without being told, were parseltongue. "You can't expect me to…?" he looked from the sword to the direction that the snake's roar had come from, wincing as Tom Riddle's voice rang out mockingly,

"Your bird may have blinded the beast, but he can still hear you, Mr Potter. You can't hide forever." the man laughed and goosebumps rose on Harry's arms, he shuddered as the man spoke again, "How about we make this game a little more fun? Ms Weasley here is quite helpless… It would be a shame for her to loose her life so early on, what kind of a hero would you be if you didn't save the damsel in distress? Come now, Potter, let's see if you are really the noble figure little Ginny thinks you are. _Get the girl._ " Tom hissed out the command and suddenly the pipes were alive with movement once more. Harry didn't have time to think, sprinting from his position, skidding back into the wide hall. Tom Riddle laughed a high, hysterical cackle at the sight of him and clapped his pale hands in delight. Harry spun and was confronted with the hideous face of a basilisk. It's eyes were gory ruins, pecked away in a manner that had likely saved Harry from instant death, and it's mouth was open and poised to strike. It lunged in a swift movement, and Harry thrust his arm up instinctively, the sword in his hand plunging through the roof of the beast's mouth with a sickening squelch before it could swallow him and Ginevra Weasley whole.

Such an act was not without it's risks, and Harry had a few seconds to ponder the pure, idiotic, Gryffindor-ishness of his decision before his world was consumed by pain, and a sharp white tooth slid into his arm smoothly. The basilisk thrashed, throwing itself away from Harry in it's panic, the sword coming loose from it's mouth, remaining in Harry's now useless hand as blood gushed and turned the water coating the ground red. Harry staggered back, vision tilting and blurring as he collapsed beside Ginny.

"How quaint." said Riddle, coming to stand over Harry. "It is unfortunate that you killed the basilisk, but let's call that collateral. After all, your noble mission has failed. Soon, Miss Weasley will be dead, and you can follow her on to the next life." he laughed, eyes bottomless and black. Harry coughed up blood, spitting at the figure who's face he could no longer make out. He pushed himself away from the man clumsily, his hand closing over Ginny's and pulling her with him.

"Dumbledore will destroy you." he muttered hazily, vision getting darker and darker, _was this death? It didn't seem so bad._ Harry smiled slightly, head thudding back against the stone as cold began to creep into his bones. A beautiful bird flew down with an angry shriek, it's red plumage glittering gloriously as it landed beside Harry. It's claws dug uncomfortably into Harry's shoulder as it peered at his wound. "There's nothing to be done, pretty birdie." Harry said, as the bird began to sing a sad melody, "I'm pretty cut up about it too, but- hey!" Harry sat up. The bird, which was coming better and better into focus, was _crying_ on him. Pearly tears dribbled into his wound, and the skin seemed to knit itself together until there was nothing but a faint scar. His spare hand, which was till clutching Ginny's, began to glow, but the boy was so focused on not being dead that he didn't notice. Tom Riddle however, was not so oblivious,

"What magic is this?" he asked, voice like fragmented glass. He wavered for half a second, and Ginny's grip on Harry's hand tightened. The girl's cheeks began to flush and with a sudden push, she sat up, eyes opening for half a second, a bright brown,

"I'm not damsel, Tom, and you're going to hell." she grabbed the sword from beside Harry, who had jumped in surprise as she moved, before reaching into her robes for something. Riddle lunged for her desperately, but wasn't fast enough as she plunged the sliver blade into a small, black notebook. The man seemed to crumble, ink pouring from the pages over Ginevra's hands as he slowly fell apart, until there was nothing but the echoes of a scream. The girl shuddered, eyes, previously so focused, clouding with exhaustion.

"Harry…? I mean- Potter. It was me, but I swear I didn't mean to- I've been petrifying the students, but I couldn't control it- I'm so-" her words shook and tears began to dribble down her cheeks as she spoke. Harry squeezed her hand,

"I know, no one will blame you, this wasn't your fault." he said gently, his spare arm, though healed, still trembled slightly, like it didn't understand why it wasn't in extreme pain, "and I think Harry is fine, Ginny. We may have been through to much _not_ to be on first name basis." Ginny laughed at that, before letting out a loud sniff and trying to clamber to her feet.

"Let's get out of this place… _please_." she said, pulling Harry to his feet. The two glanced to the bird which had clearly saved their lives. It flapped large ruby-red wings and cawed, as though commanding them to follow, before leading them away from the chamber of secrets, and the dead, thousand year old snake that now lay within it.

* * *

Dumbledore's office door creaked open with a whine, as the two Slytherins staggered back to civilisation. Their hands were firmly clasped, as though too frightened to let go of each other, only reluctantly parting as Mrs Weasley scooped her daughter up with a hysterical scream, Mr Weasley embracing the two in a perfect family image. Harry felt his eyes droop, and was taken by surprise as a body slammed into his own and Draco hugged him tightly,

"You look awful, mate." the boy said, once he pulled away, "I thought you were dead. Father's been having a fit." Harry nodded tiredly, sliding into an empty chair, to exhausted to respond.

TBC

* * *

 **Okay so... That's that then. So thank you for all the** **support so far! I know things have gone significantly different to cannon in this chapter, and the reasons for that will be explained as time goes on, don't worry. Also, a lovely reviewer pointed out that my grammar and spelling is not amazing. I don't have a beta reader, as I try to have my updates posted very fast, so I'm very sorry for any errors in my writing. I do my best to spell check and read through but if you notice any typos or anything, please feel free to tell me and I will correct them :)**

 **Please, please, please review. I need them to fuel my typing-monster-rage-fire!**

 **Thanks!**


	13. Chapter twelve

**Chapter twelve**

The new year came and went in a haze of white walls, well-wisher gifts and sleep. It was only the day before classes officially started once more, that the two Slytherin students were allowed to leave the hospital wing. For Harry, this was a source of relief, he longed to return to the ranks of his fellow second years, missing the easy fun that came with being surrounded by his friends. For Ginny, it was nothing but a source of anxiety. By Christmas, any tentative friendships she had formed with her peers had been crushed, sharp words severing ties that ought to have lasted her years. Ginny had sobbed into her pillow at the thought of the ruined friendship between herself and Astoria, who hadn't visited her during her stay in the hospital wing. When Harry and Ginny reached the passage to their common room, Ginny took a deep shuddering breath, hand poised to open the door and find somewhere to hide away, when a grip on her forearm paused her, she glanced to Harry, who was watching her intently,

"Listen, Ginny, if anyone gives you any trouble, let me know. Don't be a stranger, okay?" he said, she flushed at the genuine concern in his voice and nodded, voice failing her. He smiled slightly, pushing open the door. Slytherin house had waited up for them, and the normally stoic students cheered at their arrival. Draco, Blaise and Theodore dragged Harry away, thrusting a butter-beer into his hands whilst telling him that the points gained by himself and Ginny would be certain to win them the cup that year. Harry laughed at their enthusiasm, himself and Ginny had gained seventy-five points each for bravery in the face of the enemy, or something of a similar nature, and Slytherin was far ahead of the other houses.

Ginny herself was hardly unpopular, she was patted on the back by people she had never even spoken to. Her housemates smiled at her and a drink was pushed into her hand as she was jostled through the crowds. Her eyes scanned the students, smiling politely, though her heart wasn't really in the gesture. She paused as her gaze lit upon the object of her search, Astoria Greengrass sat, looking small and lonely, in a large armchair in the corner of the room. It was their usual study seat, where they would squeeze onto the chair together to hunch over a book. It looked so much bigger with only on person on it. Ginny took a deep breath, before making her way to the girl who she had shoved aside with such brutality.

"Astoria?" she asked, voice uncertain, "Can I talk to you?" the dark-haired girl nodded, eyes cautious as she peered at her ex-friend. Ginny sat down on an opposite armchair, and opened her mouth to apologise for all of the awful things she had said. Astoria beat her to it;

"I'm so sorry!" she blurted out, "I got angry and I wasn't there for you and you were almost _killed_!" she took a deep, shuddering breath, "I've been a terrible friend and if you never wanted to talk to me again I'd understand!" Ginny's eyes watered at the onslaught of words, and she threw herself forwards without pausing to think. Her arms wrapped around the girl,

"I was coming over to apologise to _you_!" she said, "I was horrible and-"

"Let's just forget about this whole thing?" Astoria cut in, shifting on her seat to provide more space, "Come sit, I need to show you this awesome thing from 'A Magical Guide to Charming your Prince.' It'll sway Malfoy for sure!" Ginny laughed, the first time since her return from the chamber, things were starting to look up. She slid into her old spot, offering her mug of butter-beer to the girl, who took a sip before handing back the tankard. They wasted the night laughing and talking, Harry glanced over at them from where he was sitting with his friends, and smiled at the happy picture. The firelight caught Ginny's hair, and she seemed to brighten the normally dark common room as she giggled with Greengrass. Harry slid back into his conversation, pushing the thought that Ginny Weasley was very pretty to the back of his mind, and immersing himself in talk of quidditch once more.

Despite the fact that the heir of Slytherin had been dealt with, nothing had really changed in the life of Harry Potter. His classes proceeded as normal, and Quidditch season, which he had missed in the hassle of the past months, was drawing to a close before he knew it. Slytherin destroyed Gryffindor; using underhanded tactics and the fact that Gryffindor had a sub-standard seeker to their utmost advantage. Dumbledore had told the students that the Heir to Slytherin was someone from outside the student body, who Harry and Ginny had incapacitated whilst being held hostage by the madman. This explanation did little to satisfy the curiosity of the student body, and Harry and Ginny were peppered with questions about their battle. The two were naturally very quiet about the whole thing, but their time of privacy was not destined to last longer then four months.

The petrified students were given the Mandrake solution surrounded by friends and family, despite Madam Pomfrey's insistence that the students were 'given some space'. Whilst most of the students had seen nothing but the reflected yellow eyes of their attacker and had no idea as to who was controlling the beast, Ronald Weasley had, prior to his petrification, met the blank gaze of his sister before catching sight of the basilisk in the hall window. Unfortunately, this meant that upon waking up, surrounded by half of his housemates and his family, his first reaction was to scream, catching sight of his younger sister at the fore of the crowd. He had pressed himself back against the headboard of the bed, eyes wide and panicked as he scrabbled to get away from the girl.

"Ronald!" his mother cried, worry lacing her voice at the sight of her son so frightened, the boy turned to look at the woman, before frantically pointing at Ginny,

"Mum! It was her! Ginny set the basilisk on me, she can speak parseltongue, she's the heir!" Or at least, that was what he tried to say before he was hit with a charm that made his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. Despite his mother's speed with her wand, the panic in his words was not lost on his fellow students. Ginny, who was white in the face shook her head silently, aware that everyone in the hospital wing had heard the first half of her brother's statement, and now believed she had set a basilisk on her brother. Madam Pomfrey, who looked very worried by what had been shouted, jostled everyone but the family from the room,

"This is what happens when you crowd them, they get hysterical, delusional even! Off with you all." despite the Matron's attempt to disguise the boy's words as nonsensical, the students murmured as they left, glancing over their shoulder at the lone Slytherin Weasley.

Despite everything being explained to the formerly petrified boy, the relationship between Ron and Ginny was strained. The boy would start at his sister's voice, flinch at her name. They avoided each other at all costs. This only furthered the rumours flying around about Ginevra's involvement in the Chamber of Secrets, and soon the girl was a social pariah in all but her own house. Slytherin seemed unperturbed by the rumours, ignoring them or scoffing in the rare situation that they were brought up.

"Honestly!" Astoria's sister exclaimed , as a group of Ravenclaws walked past her at breakfast, two weeks into her ostracisation, speaking loudly, "Don't these imbeciles know anything about family trees? I was taught this before I could walk. The Weasley family has absolutely no relation to Salazar Slytherin, so there is no way that Weasley could be the heir of Slytherin. She has seven older brothers who could have beaten her to the position if her family was somehow related to the founder." her cheeks were slightly flushed as she glared at the Ravenclaws, who sped off without another word. Ginny looked to the girl with wide eyes,

"Thank you…" she said, the blonde smiled slightly, a mere tweak upwards of pink lips,

"It's no problem. I hate to see these imbeciles disregarding basic family trees." the girl said, Astoria laughed slightly, cutting in,

"Daph' forced me to learn them, she was stricter then our parents!" the two girls smiled at each other and Ginny blinked, noticing suddenly the similarities between the two sisters. Both had the same sharp blue eyes facial shapes, though their hair colours were startling contrasts, Daphne's blonde against Astoria's black. Ginny smiled as the two girls slipped into casual sibling-style banter, mind wandering to her own brothers, three tables down. She was interrupted by her musing as a hand was thrust across the table,

"I suppose we've been terribly rude, I didn't formally introduce myself when we first met, I'm Daphne Greengrass. If my sister trusts you enough to allow you to use her first name then so do I." said the girl, Ginny accepted the hand,

"Call me Ginny." she responded with a wide smile, the girl who was sitting beside Daphne nodded politely,

"Tracy Davies." she said, Ginny smiled in return, and the four settled into easy conversation. Fifteen minutes before breakfast was over, Harry Potter and his friends ran into the hall, sliding into the seats beside the two second year girls with practised ease.

"I thought you guys were going to skip breakfast altogether this time…" said Tracy, grinning at Harry, who ran a hand through his hair with a half laugh,

"We almost did," he said, "Draco kept fiddling with his hair." the girl laughed as Malfoy let out an indignant squawk. Harry reached out and grabbed a bagel off the table, casually buttering it as himself and Tracy began to talk. Astoria nudged Ginny sharply,

"Eyes away, dearest…" she muttered, and Ginny flushed, having been caught staring. Astoria laughed at her embarrassment, "We can have a shared wedding!" she whispered, sending her friend a deeper shade of red. Harry glanced over at Ginny as she talked with her friend, the two were lost in their own world as they whispered to each other, he took a gulp of his pumpkin juice and ran a hand through his hair once more, a nervous habit. He waited until the girl glanced his way before catching her eye with a smile,

"Morning, Ginny!" he said, the girl smiled back charmingly, cheeks flushed from whatever she had been talking about with her friend,

"Morning Harry." she responded, and the boy's smile widened happily, before he resumed talking with the other second years. Astoria giggled slightly and Ginny glared at her, focusing on her breakfast.

Despite the minimalist nature of her conversations with the Harry, the fact that she was on first name basis with the Potter heir was a noticeable status boost for the younger girl. Astoria was Ginny's closest friend, but now, amongst her dorm-mates, things were significantly less stressful. The other three girls who Ginevra roomed with finally, after months of ignoring her, introduced themselves. First to come forwards was Camilla Carrow. The girl, tall with blonde hair and chilly grey eyes extended her hand, the faintest of sneers visible on her sharply angled face as she gave Ginny her name. Ginny stared at the hand with narrowed eyes,

"No thank you." she said primly, before returning to her book. She had not forgotten the girl's cruel words on her first days at Hogwarts, though she had previously not had a name to go with the face. When in the bathrooms, the arrogant girl had insulted her and then become outraged when Ginny had responded in kind. The girl's lips thinned at Ginny's response and swallowed before she spoke again,

"I understand that when we first met, I did not behave appropriately, and I would like to apologise. I shouldn't have insulted you so hastily." the words were clearly forced and the girl was the epitome of discomfort when Ginny glanced up at her once more. Finally, she shook the girl's hand.

"You shouldn't have, but I accept your apology." she said. Anger still bubbled in her gut as she looked at the taller girl, but Ginny suppressed it. She would do nothing to risk being as alone as she had been earlier that year. Though she couldn't picture herself and Carrow ever being on first name basis, she would try not to make enemies.

Next came Priscilla Parkinson, the girl was tiny, especially considering she spent most of her time with the willowy Carrow, and had mousy blonde hair and large brown eyes. She looked younger then all of the other girls, and Ginny felt her guard lower as she offered a hand with a polite smile,

"It's nice to meet you!" she said, having given her name, Ginny laughed slightly at the girl's chirpy tone, watching as she vanished as quickly as she had come.

Finally was Mary-lee Flint. The girl was large and brutish in comparison to her friends, and nodded to Ginny with a half smile and grunted her name.

Though she was now familiar with her room mates, Ginny remained relatively exclusive with her friendship, and it was noted by her housemates that only three people had been granted right to her first name (Astoria and Daphne Greengrass, and the Potter heir). That was until she befriended a Ravenclaw from the year above her. Ginny met Mandy Brocklehurst in the library, she was finishing her transfiguration homework when the girl came in, her face was red and her eyes were frantic as she scanned the library, she looked close to tears. Ginny watched her curiously as the girl slid into the seat next to her without a glance, hissing,

"Talk to me." the Slytherin complied, rambling about her transfiguration homework as several girls also wearing Ravenclaw garb rounded the corner, talking in voices almost too loud for the library. The leader, Ginny recalled the name of instantly, was Cho Chang. The girl was very pretty, and held the position of Ravenclaw seeker, her dark eyes narrowed as she took in Ginny's new comrade, and she muttered something to her friends before they wandered off to sit somewhere else in the library. The girl slumped in relief, "Thank you so much…" she whispered, Ginny nodded, turning the page of her transfiguration textbook before inquiring,

"What did you do to them?" the older girl shook her head, chocolate hair falling over her eyes in wild bangs,

"Nothing, it's just…" she paused, "They have been making fun of me for ages and then, I made the mistake of talking to Lovegood, and they began majorly targeting me."

"Luna?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows, the other girl nodded,

"You know her? She's like, the social pariah of Ravenclaw, but I'm hardly popular myself." Ginny frowned, herself and Luna had been friends before Hogwarts, yet she had seen hide nor hair of the other girl. The Ravenclaw continued rambling, "I don't know why, I just never really made friends with my housemates and then Chang and Edgecombe started picking on me and I guess it caught on but-" she paused, glancing at Ginny with wide eyes, "I guess you'd know about that, what with all this 'heir of Slytherin' rubbish." Ginny grinned at the girl's bluntness, and twirled on the end of her braid for a moment before she made up her mind and extended her hand,

"I like you. I guess you know my name but I'll introduce myself anyways, I'm Ginevra Weasley, but I go by Ginny, and you are?" the other girl flushed and took her hand,

"Mandy Brocklehurst, it's nice to meet you too." Despite the oddness of their initial meeting, Mandy stayed even after the other Ravenclaws trudged from the library, casting glances in their direction as the two worked through their schoolwork with playful banter lightening the air. Astoria joined them later and the introduction ran smoothly between the three girls. It became routine to see them huddled in the library, talking in hushed whispers.

* * *

 **Ok, so I know I haven't updated in ages, and I'm really sorry... I hope my updates will be a bit better from now on. Next chapter we will properly get some Harry/Ginny interaction, I swear! PLEASE REVIEW**


	14. Chapter thirteen

**Chapter 13**

Ginny Weasley had never liked snakes. She disliked the way the light hit their scales and the way their tongues forked out and the noise they made, the dry hissing that made the hair on her neck stand on end. Fortunately, she could count the number of times she had interacted with the reptiles on one hand.

The first time, she had been five, and one had rose from the grass in her back garden with an outraged hiss, that to her young mind, might as well have been a roar. The snake hadn't been poisonous, nor particularly large, but it had terrified her nonetheless. Her father had removed it with a swift banishing charm, and then rocked his sobbing daughter until her tears subsided, assuring her that it had only been a Grass-snake, and it wouldn't have really hurt her anyway.

"It was more afraid of you then you were of it." he had tried to assure her, but the young girl was not so easily calmed. Her parents set up wards around the house to scare off any snakes, hoping to prevent the incident from occurring again, but Ginevra had nightmares for weeks, nonetheless.

The second time had been on a trip to the Zoo. Several years had passed since the girl's encounter with the grass-snake in her back garden, and Ginny had practically forgotten it. Her family were having a glowing day, looking at tigers and penguins and all things fury and cute, eight year old Ginny was in heaven. That was, until Fred and George demanded to go to the reptile house. When they had first asked their parents, Ginny had felt a faint churning in her stomach, but pushed it aside; Ginny was the youngest Weasley and only girl, she didn't want to be dubbed a coward by her brothers, so she had marched in with the rest of her family, chin held high. It had taken one hiss to shatter her brave facade entirely though, the girl had turned and sprinted from the 'Reptile house' in tears. She had been inconsolable. In the end, it wasn't her parents who had calmed her down, but her brother, Ronald. The boy was nine and dressed in clothes that were slightly to big for him as he slid down next to Ginny on the cold concrete,

"Don't be sad." he'd said, his sister had ignored him, picking at a scab on her knee and glaring resolutely at the floor. Her brother caught her hand in his own, palms sweaty and knuckles dimpled in the bright sunlight, "I'm scared of stuff too." he said, "I don't like spiders." Ginny had glanced at him sharply, before returning her attention to the floor,

"So?" she asked, sniffing slightly, Ron squeezed her hand,

"Everyone's allowed to be scared of something." he had said. Ginny relaxed slightly beside him, and Mr and Mrs Weasley had exchanged a smile from where they had been sitting, quietly watching the exchange. Somewhere, in the Weasley household, there's a picture of that moment, taken on a cheap wizarding camera. It was the perfect shot, catching the moment that Ginny looked up at her brother with eyes filled with stars. An unattainable snapshot of the past.

The third time Ginny had encountered snakes was hazy. She was possessed by a diary, but in the back of her mind, a small part of her couldn't help but grumble at the fact that _of course_ the monster of Slytherin was a giant snake. When she regained consciousness, her hand clasped in that of Harry Potter, it had taken everything she had not to react as they passed the statues of snakes decorating the walls of the Chamber, or the giant serpent lying dead on the chamber floor, it had been humiliation enough to cry about snakes in front of her brothers when she was eight years old, she _wouldn't_ let Harry Potter know how much of a _coward_ she was.

The fourth time, was mere months after the third. Professor Lockhart's duelling class was, unsurprisingly, a disaster, especially due to the presence of Professor Snape. The tall, hook nosed man had pitted Malfoy and Ronald against each other, knowing full well the resentment bubbling between them. Ginny had watched with baited breath as he murmured a spell into the ear of his blonde haired charge, and then recoiled as the duel started, and a large black serpent shot from the end of the boy's wand.

All of her fear suddenly hit her full force, she was back in the chamber, in the zoo, in her back garden, all at once, and her breath caught in her throat as the snake rose up, swaying side to side as it moved towards Ron. She had never hated Severus Snape more as she took in the sight. Then, the snake spoke.

The hiss that haunted her nights was gone, in it's place, was a dry rasping voice.

" _Foolish humans, awakening me. I will feast on their flesh and-"_ Ginny lunged forwards panicked as the serpent came closer to her brother,

 _"_ _Stop!_ " the word slipped unbidden from her lips, in a language that wasn't her own. The snake obeyed, turning sharply to watch her, along with the rest of the hall. For the first time in her life, Ginny missed that awful hissing, she wasn't a Parselmouth, Tom Riddle was. Snape banished the serpent with a flick of his wand, but the damage was done. Ron, who had been frozen before, fell to his knees, and pointed at her with a trembling finger,

"It was her!" he shrieked, "I tried to tell you all! She did it! That's not my sister!" Ginny turned and fled the hall, too afraid to meet anyone's eyes as she did so,

"Ginny!" she heard a voice call, _Harry,_ she didn't dare turn, just continued away, terrified of the disgust that must be showing in his eyes, she was a Dark Witch, Parseltongue was a dark ability, and most importantly, _it wasn't hers,_ it was a curse, from Tom Riddle from beyond the grave.

Ginny ran without direction or pause, turning through dark corridors and flying down steps until the world around her became unfamiliar and strange, made even more forbidding by the tears blurring her vision. Tom seemed to lurk in every corner, every shadow reflected his dark eyes and bright smile, and his voice hissed at her, echoing through her mind. Finally, with gasps that tore at her lungs she collapsed in a corner, chest heaving. Sobs wracked her body and she trembled where she sat, head tilted to rest against the cold stone wall.

" _Why the tears?_ " The words were not english and Ginny tensed where she sat, eyes flitting for the person who had spoke, but she could see no one. It was only at the sound of scales on stone that Ginny glanced down and almost screamed. Almost invisible in the dark, was the outline of a snake, Ginny couldn't see the colour, but it wasn't very large,

" _Stay back!"_ she hissed frantically, scooting as far away from the reptile a she could, the serpent obeyed, slithering back a bit, what little light there was in the empty corridor flashed against the animal's eyes,

" _Why do you cry, little speaker?"_ the serpent persisted, and Ginny flinched as it spoke, hating the fact she could understand it more then it's presence, somehow, being able to talk to the snakes she so feared made them both less and more intimidating at the same time.

 _"_ _How did you get in here?"_ she asked, _"Why are you in the school?"_ , the snake rose slightly from where it sat, looking almost indignant,

 _"_ _I live here."_ the snake hissed, offended, " _My speaker brought me here."_. Ginny's fear was pushed aside for a moment as she slid forwards eagerly,

 _"_ _There's another speaker?"_ she asked, voice frantic, the snake swayed in an approximation of a nod and Ginny felt her limbs weaken, she wasn't _entirely_ alone, " _Who?_ " the snake hissed angrily at this.

 _"_ _You have not even asked me my name, yet you expect me to lead you to my master? He is much more polite then yourself."_ perhaps if Ginny weren't still in shock, she would have blushed at the reprimand, but instead, she said robotically,

 _"_ _What is your name then?"_ the snake responded eagerly,

 _"_ _Greta the Great!"_ she said, voice significantly more friendly now, _"What is yours, little speaker?_ "

 _"_ _Ginny Weasley."_ the girl finally said, relaxing finally in the snake's presence, _"Will you tell me who your speaker is?"_ The snake slithered away, and for a moment, Ginny was afraid the snake wouldn't answer, but the serpent hissed,

 _"_ _I will bring him to you, Ginny Weasley, he has been searching for you all morning anyway."_ and with that, the snake was gone.

Ginny sat numbly for she didn't know how long. The cold of the stone floor seemed to seep into her bones as she sat, shivering slightly, in the dark. Finally, a pair of running footsteps awoke her from her daze, and a figure dropped to his knees beside her. She couldn't make out his face, but as he let out a relieved,

"Ginny!", she blinked, she would recognise that voice anywhere,

"Harry?" she asked, surprised at how much she her voice croaked, the figure nodded,

"Everyone's been going mad looking for you Ginny, Greengrass has been going insane, and Dumbledore called your parents in. They want to run some tests to make sure you're okay after what happened at Christmas, because you can…" the boy tailed of and Ginny winced,

"Talk to snakes." she finished miserably, "I bet everyone thinks I'm dark now, right?". There was a pause, and then Harry spoke,

"I'm not gonna lie to you Ginny, this has just reinforced the Heir of Slytherin Rumours, but Draco, Blaise and Theo are in the common room right now, making sure everyone knows that it's crap. Being a Parselmouth doesn't mean that you're necessarily a dark Witch." Ginny felt her lips tug up into a smile at these words,

"Thank you, Harry." the boy nodded again and stood up, offering her a hand. She took it, and stood, flinching as he rapidly pulled his hand free,

"You're frozen." he said, by means of explanation, before pulling off his outer cloak, and wrapping it around her shoulders. He caught her hand again, tugging her gently towards the light and warmth of the occupied halls of School. It was only when they passed the first lamp that Ginny saw Harry's arm. His white school shirt sleeve was rolled to his elbow, and, like a gaudy bracelet, 'Greta the Great', was curled around his forearm. She dug in her heels, dragging them both to a halt,

"You're the speaker she went to find?" Ginny asked, eyes wide, Harry grinned crookedly,

"Yeah, don't tell anyone though, it's been pretty hard keeping Greta quiet during classes." Ginny laughed, an odd nervous sound, but a laugh nonetheless. Some of the tension slipped from her body. If _Harry Potter_ was a speaker, then it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Finally, Ginny found herself in Dumbledore's office, a place she was becoming uncomfortably familiar with. Her parents sat anxiously before the headmaster and stood as she and Harry entered. Mrs Weasley eyed the boy as they came in,

"Why is it that every time something happens to Ginny, this boy is in the thick of it?" Harry looked at the woman in surprise, but seemed to decide against responding. Mr Weasley placed a hand on his wife's shoulder as though to calm her, and Dumbledore nodded to him,

"Thank you Mr Potter, you may return to your common room." he said, politely dismissing the boy. Harry glanced at Ginny once more before he left, and Ginny noticed the serpent around his arm was no where in sight. He smiled reassuringly at her before disappearing down the spiral staircase. For the second time in months, Ginny found herself swept into a bone crushing hug by her mother and father. All of her fears that Tom was still lingering on within her suddenly rose to the surface and Ginny began to cry again.

Albus kept Ginny in his office for what felt like hours. Her parents sat on either side of her, watching worriedly as the headmaster muttered incantation after incantation. When he finally slid back into his office chair, twirling his beard between his fingers and looking undeniably perplexed, Ginny burst out,

"Is Tom still there?" Both of her parents flinched at her bluntness, but the headmaster merely shook his head, peering at her over the rim of his half-moon spectacles as though she was a very interesting test subject.

"No need to fear that, Ms Weasley. All traces of Tom Riddle are long gone from your magical signature. Your new ability, odd as it may be, seems to be yours entirely. There's no chance you were unaware of your talent before?" Ginny shook her head, and Mr Weasley spoke up,

"From a young age, Ginny has been terrified of snakes. She would know if she could speak to them." he wrapped an arm around Ginny's shoulder, and she leaned into her father's embrace, relief still coursing through her at Dumbledore's assurances that she was not connected to Riddle.

"How do we get rid of this?" asked Mrs Weasley, brown eyes crinkling worriedly. Dumbledore leaned forwards in his seat, tangling his fingers together as he pondered the question,

"I don't believe that removing this is an option," he finally said, "and such a talent is rare. Perhaps, in time, your daughter will be glad of it." Mrs Weasley nodded in acceptance of this. Ginny felt her eyes droop as her parents continued to pepper the headmaster with questions. Finally, she let out a loud yawn and the attention was once again returned to her.

"Ah, I do believe it's time for us all to retire to bed." the headmaster said, eyes twinkling, "Please let me know if you gain any new talents, Ms Weasley." Ginny nodded and hastily excused herself, legs leaden. The shock of the day had finally worn off, and fatigue slowed her limbs as she made her way down to the dungeons. The warmth of the Common room made her eyes droop further, and Ginny noticed Astoria asleep on one of the couches, wrapped in a blanket. Ginny felt her heart melt a little at her best friend's gesture, and nudged the girl awake.

"Ginny, what-" Astoria's eyes were hazy as she tried to talk and Ginny shushed her with a smile,

"Come on, I'll explain in the morning. We need to go to bed." the girl nodded, and the two made their way to their dormitories without another word. Before Ginny drifted off, she reassured herself that clearly, not everyone thought she was evil because she could talk to snakes, both Harry and Astoria didn't care, so neither would others. It was to this reassuring thought that Ginny fell asleep.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy sat across from his wife in his study, palm pressed against his forehead as he re-read the document before him. The normally pale man was practically grey as his eyes flitted across the file labelled: Sirius Black.

"Narcissa, dear." he said, his wife glanced up from her book, bright blue eyes curious, "I was looking into your suggestion, of making Sirius Black, Potter's temporary guardian, if we could pay to get him removed from Azkaban." His wife nodded in response, prompting him to continue, "I believe it may be easier then we initially planned." he ran a hand along his chin, "How certain are you of his guilt?" Narcissa shook her head,

"Sirius Black loved James Potter like a brother. No one suspected he could have been a traitor. I was as shocked as the next person, why do you ask?" the man nodded, as though having expected her response,

"He might be innocent yet. He was thrown into Azkaban without a trial."

TBC

* * *

 **Hey! Fast update as promised. Please, please review!**


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter 14**

"Would you stop staring at her for five seconds?" Draco snapped. Harry turned to look at him, surprised.

"I wasn't-" he began, but was abruptly cut off,

"You most definitely were." Blaise commented, not raising his head from his text book as he spoke. Harry scowled, opening his mouth to respond, but before he could, Draco began to sing under his breath,

"Harry and Weaslette, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-"

"Cut it out!" Harry whined, "I wasn't staring because of that, I'm just curious. She's the only other Parselmouth I've ever met!"

"And you want to press your parselmouths together?" suggested Theodore with a smirk. Harry spluttered in surprise whilst his friends began to snigger.

"No!" he cried, volume louder then socially acceptable in the library. A Ravenclaw shushed him and Harry leaned forwards, lowering his voice. "Besides, even if I did! Which I don't, me and Draco didn't make any jokes about you and Tracy, so hush!" Theodore blinked, brow furrowing as Blaise raised an eyebrow,

"What's this about Theo and Tracy?" he asked, Draco grinned,

"I'd forgotten about that. Over Christmas, Theo and Tracy came back to school for like half a day, and told us that they were dating, then disappeared again!" he explained. Theo looked even more confused then ever as he looked at his friends,

"What are you talking about?" he asked, "I was with my dad the whole of Christmas break." Harry rolled his eyes, and exchanged a look with Draco,

"Yeah, sure. So I guess that the Theo and Tracy who came to visit us in the common room, then left to kiss, were just people _pretending_ to be you, right?" Draco scoffed at the absurdity of the notion, and Theodore gave Blaise a look that clearly said, _help me._ The curly haired youth frowned,

"I'm pretty sure you aren't allowed to visit Hogwarts over the Holidays, either you stay or you go…" Theodore nodded, relieved that _someone_ was being sane,

"Exactly, I couldn't have been the one you guys saw over Christmas." he said. Draco's eyes widened,

"You mean, it was _actually_ someone pretending to be you and Tracy?" he asked,

"Who'd go to that extent to hang out with us?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow sceptically, "This seems like a cover up." Draco sniffed the air,

"You're right, Harry." he snarled, "I smell a conspiracy." he turned his icy blue eyes to Blaise and Theodore, "You guys are just trying to cover up Theo's love life."

"And what possible motivation would I have for doing that?" asked Blaise, rolling his eyes, Harry jabbed a finger at him accusingly,

"So you could pretend you were the first in our group to get a girlfriend!" he cried. Several people cast Harry filthy looks for his volume, from their respective study tables, and Harry's cheeks reddened at the curious glances, one of which came from Ginny's table.

Theodore pressed his head against the table in despair.

"So somebody is pretending to be me and gallivanting around the school, and rather then being concerned, you think that this is a cover up for the fact that I have a girlfriend?" he asked. Harry and Draco exchanged a look,

"When you put it that way, it seems silly." Harry said, "But who would have to motivation to do that? Surely changing yourself to look like another person entirely is complicated magic. I have trouble changing mice into teacups, let alone bodily transformations!"

"What about a potion?" asked Draco, "I'm sure there is some form of potion that can make you look like someone else?"

"Yeah, the Polyjuice potion." Theodore said, "but no one in our year would be idiotic enough to try that, it's sixth year stuff. If you got it wrong you could end up in St Mungos."

"What did they say, when you saw them?" asked Blaise, interlacing is fingers and propping his chin up on them, Harry shrugged,

"I can't even remember. Me and Draco were playing exploding snap at the time so…" Harry tailed off, brow furrowed as he tried to recall the conversation,

"They were asking about the Chamber of secrets." Draco supplied, "And I made some joke about who I wanted the next victim to be, and Tracy got mad!"

"Oh yeah!" Harry said, eyes lighting up as he recalled the events, "Tracy was acting like she cared about Creevey. I guess we should have guessed what was going on then." Draco nodded,

"Now that I think about it, they were really bad actors. I don't know why we weren't more suspicious." Draco said. Unbeknownst to the Slytherin boys, Hermione and Neville looked vaguely affronted as they shamelessly eavesdropped.

"Yeah, we should have been paying more attention. But that doesn't give us any hints as to who it was." Harry remarked, the four boys leaned in and lowered their voices to whispers, schoolwork forgotten.

"It wont have been a Slytherin." Draco said, "They didn't show any pureblood etiquette, they sat way too close together and at one point Fake-Theo interrupted Fake-Tracy."

"It could be someone we don't know at all, from an older year." Theodore said, "After all, we've already determined that it was complicated magic that changed their appearances."

"But if they were asking about the Chamber of Secrets, then they probably suspected one of you." Blaise said, nodding to Harry and Draco.

"So we are looking for someone intelligent but uneducated in pureblood customs, so a muggleborn, who suspected one of us of being the heir of Slytherin?" Draco surmised,

"Maybe they understood pureblood customs but were nervous though." Blaise interjected, "Or just unused to employing them, they weren't necessarily muggleborn." the four lapsed into thoughtful silence.

"Chances are, we will never find out." Theodore finally stated, "Unless they do it again, we have no chance of catching them."

"Do you guys want to go and play a game of Quidditch?" Draco suggested, the four hastily backed their stuff away, eager to get out of the oppressive darkness of the library.

As the Summer Holidays loomed nearer, Harry made plans with his friends for the Holidays. He had, like the previous year, been invited to spend two weeks at each of his friend's houses, but all of his planning was shot out of the water when an envelope was delivered to him at breakfast, three weeks before the end of the school year.

 _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _Your Wizarding guardian, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, first class, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, has requested that you spend your Summer Holidays with your Muggle Guardians. If you fail to do so, you will be penalised, and will risk further restrictions on your activities._

 _Thank You,_

 _Department of Wizarding Children's Welfare._

Harry stared blankly at the page before him for several long seconds, feeling his cheeks heat up with anger. His blood boiled as he wordlessly passed the letter to Draco, who scanned it's contents with growing ire.

"My father will hear about this. Don't worry Harry, you won't go back to those filthy _muggles_ if I can help it." the blonde said, before departing from the hall, likely planning to write a letter home. Blaise and Theodore reacted similarly, planning to write home, though neither of their parents had as much sway as Draco's. Harry didn't allow himself to stew in his anger, departing from the Great Hall and storming purposefully to the Headmaster's office.

"Sherbet Lemons." he all but snarled at the gargoyles, which slid aside to reveal the spiral staircase that Harry stormed up. He paused outside the door, taking a deep breath and composing his facial expressions before knocking on the door.

"Come in." Came Albus Dumbledore's voice. Harry open the door with more force necessary, causing it to crack against the wall as it swung on it's hinges, Harry caught it before it could slam shut and quietly closed it. The headmaster said nothing, merely watched Harry with twinkling eyes, "Ah, Mr Potter, what can I do for you today?" he asked. Harry struggled to keep his face blank, but a scowl slipped across his features nonetheless, and his frustration was palpable.

"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but, _what is this_?" Harry all but hissed as he dropped the letter on Dumbledore's desk. The man smiled benignly as his eyes scanned the letter, before returning his focus to Harry.

"Mr Potter, I have been in contact with your relatives and they were positively delighted at the prospect of having you all to themselves this coming summer." he said, eyes twinkling. Harry felt his blood boil at the man's intentional ignorance.

"Headmaster." he said, voice trembling slightly, "I am afraid that I have plans this Summer, that, unfortunately, don't involve the Dursleys." Dumbledore frowned, though the twinkling of his eyes by no means eased as he removed his glasses and polished them against his sleeve.

"My dear boy, I am very sorry to have disrupted your plans. I hoped that, by allowing you the Christmas holidays to yourself, I was giving you some leeway. It is of vital importance that you spend the summer with your relatives, for reasons aside from family bonding, though I am sure that that is necessary too." he said, his words and facial features were grave, but Harry couldn't help but feel like the man was mocking him. Harry had no family or even close family friends to fight his corner and recognise the Dursleys for the awful people they were. Draco's father could only do so much and Harry knew that Dumbledore had won. He was going to be spending the summer with people who hated him and everything that he stood for.

"And why is it vitally important, sir?" he asked, the headmaster seemed to ponder whether or not to answer him before finally saying,

"There was a bond forged between yourself and your mother on the night that she died. I will not go into too much detail but it is safe to say that not staying with your aunt, who has your mother blood running through her veins, would be dangerous for both you and her family." The man spoke with a practised ease, and his tone left no room for argument, yet Harry argued nonetheless, his desperation leaking through into his tone.

"But Sir! You can't honestly believe I'm safer with the Dursleys then a well protected Wizarding home? They _hate_ me! They find magic and everyone who practises it _freakish_." Harry jabbed at the letter, "This refers to you as my 'Wizarding Guardian', doesn't that mean you're meant to be looking out for my welfare? How can you have that title then condemn me to stay with people who would rather me dead?"

Albus Dumbledore frowned at Harry, before shaking his head,

"Mr Potter, I'm afraid that my word is final. You will stay with you Aunt and Uncle. It is for your own good."

Harry stormed from the room without a backwards glance.

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy collected the envelope from her son's owl with some trepidation. It was rare for the Malfoys to receive a letter from their son this early in the day, especially considering that Draco had written home earlier in the week already. As she read her son's letter, her eyes narrowed and a scowl formed on her porcelain face.

"Dobby." she snapped, there was a crack, and before her stood a quivering house elf, "Get Lucius, if he argues, tell him it's urgent. _Now_." the elf let out a squeak of confirmation before disappearing once more. Her husband was brought to her within minutes, and Narcissa handed him the letter without a word. Once he had finished reading, a sneer curling at his lips, she spoke,

"The Sirius Black plan needs to be accelerated, with any luck we can have him out and granted custody over Potter within the first two weeks of summer." Lucius nodded in agreement.

"I think that it's about time that we paid your cousin a visit." he said, Narcissa nodded and stepped forwards. She had suspected this turn of events, and was already clad in a coat as she took his arm. The two vanished in a crack, before reappearing outside Azkaban.

The cold was so intense it seemed to permeate her bones and Narcissa shuddered. Lucius was no better, lips bloodless as his breath fogged out in front of him. Azkaban was a truly hideous place, a tall block with grey walls and no windows. it seemed to exude misery and the land around it was entirely silent.

"State your name and business!" cried a tall, thin man with sunken cheeks and a ratty approximation of a guard uniform on, he had emerged from the one visible door in the prison, beady eyes honing in on the life outside.

"Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, here to visit our cousin, Sirius Black. Lower your wand this instant." Lucius snapped. The man complied, hasty apologies escaping his lips as he gestured for them to follow him into the building. The moment they stepped through the doors, faint moans and shrieks became clearly audible. Lucius flinched and Narcissa's grip on his arm tightened, but the guard didn't react at all, merely leading them through the winding corridors with a practised ease. Finally, he reached a door. It was large and metal without a handle or lock, and the guard turned to them.

"You need to say, 'I have no plans to break any of the prisoners out', before it will open. You have to _mean_ it though." at Narcissa's sharp look, he hastily elaborated, "Not that I believe that you would ever try and break out prisoners, Lord and Lady Malfoy." Lucius rolled his eyes, and the two repeated back the guard's words, watching as the door slid open with a gentle whoosh.

Dementors drifted through the following corridors, capes gliding against floor as they moved, the gentle rasping of their breath the only sound. There were no screams.

"Why is it so quiet?" Narcissa asked, the guard's eyes glinted maliciously as he glanced at the many windowless doors lining the walls.

"Constant exposure to dementors causes the inmates to go into a trance-like state. All of these criminals have been here for a long time. Most of them couldn't scream if they wanted to." the Malfoys were disgusted,

"Just take us to Sirius." he snapped, not willing to stay any longer then he had to. The guard nodded, taking them deeper and deeper into the prison. Finally they stopped at one of the doors and the guard banged on it, before taking out a key and unlocking it. The door swung open and Narcissa gasped, a perfectly manicured hand lifting to cover her parted lips.

When they were younger, Sirius had been sinfully handsome. He had had thick dark hair, gloriously high cheekbones, and black eyes that glittered with mirth. Now, his hair was matted, tangled with filth and grime, his once godly cheekbones had now become sharp protrusions from the sunken rest of his face, and his eyes were shadowed and slightly glazed. Narcissa fell to her knees beside him with a gasp, there was a time, when they were children, that they had been close. Seeing him shattered before her shocked her.

"Sirius!" she cried, reaching out and touching his hand, the man's eyes flitted to her and something flashed in the depth of those shallow pools,

"Here to gloat, Cissy?" he asked, humourless smile tweaking his lips, "Your dark lord did something good, didn't he." Narcissa didn't respond, eyes continuing to take him in, the rips protruding from a ripped shirt. Seeing that his wife wasn't going to say anything, Lucius crouched down beside her. Sirius' eyes narrowed as he saw the man he loathed, and he spat weakly at him, or at least he tried to, the saliva dripped down his chin, making him look more insane then he already was. Lucius couldn't bring himself to be offended. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small vial of a clear liquid.

"It is Veritaserum," he said by means of explanation, "Drink."

"Fuck you." Sirius mumbled in response, before pressing his lips tight shut. With a simple swish of his wand, Sirius found his jaw wrenched open, and the substance poured down his throat.

"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?" he asked, Sirius shook his head,

"Pettigrew is a rat animagus. He blew up a street full of muggles, cut off his finger, then fled." Lucius nodded, before continuing,

"Did you betray the Potters?" he was met with another head-shake, and Sirius replied,

"The Potters named Pettigrew as their secret keeper, he betrayed them to Voldemort."

Lucius stood up, offering a hand to his wife, who smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she accepted.

"Thank you, Sirius. Though you may not believe me yet, we will have you out soon enough." Lucius said, and with that, the Malfoys stepped from the cell.

"Take us out of this place." Snarled Narcissa at the guard, who complied without a word. Lucius frowned, it was rare for his wife to react emotionally in front of non-family members, and when she did, it was because she was truly unsettled.

He had planned to leave her at home before going to the wizengamot, but she shook her head angrily at the mere suggestion,

"I need to be there." she had snapped, and he nodded, offering no further protest.

* * *

It wasn't difficult to garner the attention of the Ministry, Lucius Malfoy was a high profile man, and the evidence he presented; his memory of giving Sirius Veritaserum and questioning him was, though unorthodox, extremely effective. Sirius Black was pulled in for a trail (or a re-trial, as the ministry was calling it), and was questioned again under veritaserum. Finally, he was announced to be innocent, and heavily monetarily compensated for his time in Azkaban. It caused a huge stir in the media, even the Quibbler had something to say about the wrongly accused man.

After the trial, Sirius sought out Lucius and Narcissa before they even had to request his presence. Though he was dressed in smart clothes, he still looked more ghoul then man. He didn't smile or shake hands with either of them, and as he surveyed the people responsible for his relief, he frowned, suspicion dominating his facial features as he asked,

"Why?" his voice was hoarse and trembled as he spoke. Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a look,

"Not here." Narcissa said, "May we extend an invitation to you, to come and visit the Malfoy manner, _now_?" The man nodded his confirmation, and Lucius hastily apparated the three of them away from the public eye before anyone could as much as snap a picture.

"Why did you help me?" Sirius Black repeated, the moment they were alone, Lucius rolled his eyes,

"Straight to the point, as always, I see. So typically Gryffindor." when Sirius didn't rise to the bate, merely stared blankly at them, waiting for an answer to the question, Narcissa spoke,

"Your Godson." she said frankly, "Harry Potter, has become very close friends with our own boy, Draco, and we have grown rather _fond_ of him." she said, a faint light entered Sirius's eyes at the mention of Harry,

"But why do you need me?" he pressed.

"I'm not sure if you were ever familiar with Lily Potter's sister, but it's be safe to say, she is the worst sort of Muggle scum. We managed to keep Harry away from them last Summer, he stayed at our house for a period as well as that of some other friends, but _Dumbledore_ is Harry's wizarding guardian, and he is making the boy return this summer, despite his protests." Narcissa explained, Sirius had paled slightly,

"They sent Harry to live with Petunia?" his expression cleared, "So, what? You want me to become Harry's guardian to get him out of Dumbledore's clutches and away from his relatives?" Narcissa nodded.

"Okay." Sirius said, shutting his eyes as his thoughts whirred, "This is not the evil scheme that I was expecting. What do you want me to do?"

TBC

* * *

 **ALOHA! May my three daily updates soften your hearts to my long** **absence... Please please please review, I love reviews so much, they really motivate me!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter 15**

Sirius Black did not trust the Malfoy family. He disliked Narcissa, from her calculating eyes to her lifeless smile, and he hated Lucius, a resentment that had carried him through the years. Yet, at their command, he downed potion after potion, visited healer after healer, until he was, _finally_ granted a full bill of health. The process was painful, and he had to return to healers every month or so for a check up, as well as have his mental welfare examined frequently, but, as Sirius kept reminding himself, _it was all for Harry_.

His Godson would be thirteen by now, just concluding his second year of Hogwarts. Sirius peppered the Malfoys with questions about him whenever he could. _What's his favourite subject?_ Defence against the dark arts. _Does he like Quidditch?_ Loves it. _What house was he sorted into?_ Slytherin. This last question had given him pause, a Potter sorted into Slytherin? It was practically unheard of, yet, Sirius was the first Black in generations to go to Gryffindor, so he wasn't too shocked by the news.

Despite his clean bill of health, it took the Malfoys two weeks into the summer holidays to manage to get Sirius his rightful guardianship over Harry. The court battles that ensued were heavily publicised, and Harry read the updates with growing agitation from his small room in the Dursley household. In the end, Sirius was finally granted custody over Harry, much to his delight.

The Black family household held nothing but bad memories for Sirius, so the man hastily bought a large home in a muggle area, and excitedly decorated the rooms for the return of his Godson. The day he was allowed to first see Harry Potter was one that both would recall with fondness. The Malfoys had insisted on picking Harry up, to allow the children to catch up before Harry went to live with Sirius. The first glimpse of his Godson that Sirius had seen in 12 years, was through a crack in the curtain as he crouched on the couch.

The boy was well dressed and average hight, with a messy head of Potter hair that had Sirius smiling reminiscently. Harry was laughing as he ambled along, brushing shoulders with the Malfoy boy. Their friendship shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did, but the sight of the Potter and Malfoy heirs walking together in camaraderie was an odd picture to the man who had only ever seen James Potter and Lucius Malfoy at each other's throats. He was broken from his observation as they reached his doorstep, and he sprinted for the door, opening it before the Potter heir even had time to knock.

"Harry!" he cried, excitement getting the better of him as he dragged the boy into a bone crushing hug,

"Mr Black," the boy said politely when he was finally released, there was amusement dancing in the boy's eyes that negated the formality of his tone, and Sirius let out a bark-like laugh,

"None of that, it's just Sirius, kid!" at this, a smile flickered across Harry's face, and Sirius was struck by the fact that although he looked like a clone of his father, his smile was all his mother's. Sirius pulled the door wider open, "Come in, come in." he would never normally invite the Malfoys into his household, but Harry was clearly comfortable in their presence, and Sirius wanted the boy to feel as welcome as possible. Narcissa smiled but declined politely,

"We have to be somewhere, Harry, so we'll leave you here, but we'll be back to visit." the woman gave Sirius a glance that alerted him that this was not up for debate, and he nodded subtly. The Malfoy boy, Sirius couldn't remember is name (something pretentious, he assumed), grinned at Harry.

"You've got to come by, Theo and Blaise too, then we can all hang out and play a proper game of quidditch!" he exclaimed, Sirius blinked, unused to the sight of a friendly Malfoy. Harry laughed, and nodded,

"I'd love to," he said, eyes sparkling, as he turned his attention to the Malfoy seniors, "Thank you Mr and Mrs Malfoy, for all your help, I don;t know how I would have got through the summer if you hadn't-"

"No thanks is needed, Harry." Narcissa said, smiling the first genuine smile Sirius had seen from his cousin in decades, Lucius ruffled Harry's hair affectionately,

"Be sure to stay in touch, Draco will go mad without some company." the man said. There was a warmth to his tone that took Sirius further by surprise. When the Malfoys had said that they were fond of his Godson, they had meant it. Sirius stowed this thought away for later as the Malfoys departed, and promptly turned his attention to Harry, who looked slightly more nervous now he was alone with him.

"Harry," he said, "I'm sure you've heard this before, but you look just like your father, but you have your mother's-"

"Eyes, I know." Harry said with a small smile, Sirius shook his head,

"I was going to say smile," he grinned, "but you have her eyes too." Harry laughed at this, before asking,

"Mr Bla- I mean, Sirius, do you think you could tell me about my parents? I don't really know much about them, you see and-" the boy got faster as he spoke, and Sirius cut him off with another of his bark like laughs,

"Yes! We have the whole summer for me to tell you stories about your parents, and believe me, there are some good ones! But first, why don't you choose a room? I wasn't sure what colour you liked, so…" Sirius lead the boy up to the second floor and, with a flourish, all of the doors lining the corridor (there were too many for magic to _not_ have been involved, somehow) swung open, "I painted every room a different colour so you could pick." Harry looked up at Sirius with wide eyes,

"You did this, for me?" he asked, Sirius grinned,

"I had fun with the paint…" he said by means of explanation. Harry wandered through the rooms before inevitably settling on the green one. Sirius rolled his eyes good humoredly and wondered why he had even bothered with the other colours, before asking Harry if he wanted to order pizza. The widening of the boy's eyes at the suggestion, let him know that this was a good decision.

* * *

Ginny's mother religiously read the Daily Prophet each morning as she bustled around the kitchen. Ginny had never paid much mind to this trait of her mother's before, but she was quickly made aware of it when Summer started. The biggest media scandal was that of the release of Sirius Black, of course, he had been 'proven' innocent, but, as Ginny's parents said, _something unsavoury had to be going on behind the scenes if the Malfoys were involved_. Ginny wasn't sure how much she bought into this kind of mindset, anymore though, as Draco Malfoy was Harry's best friend. Nonetheless, her own beliefs didn't stop her parents' horror when the ex-criminal was granted custody of Harry Potter.

"How dreadful!" Molly Weasley had exclaimed, as she sliced onions the evening it was announced, "to put a thirteen year old boy in the care of that… of that _monster_!" Mr Weasley had made some noise of agreement, whilst Ron grunted through a mouthful of potato,

"I hope he offs him." Ginny cast the boy a filthy look as his mother whirled around,

"Ronald, I don't want to hear you saying such a thing again!" she shrieked, not that Ron was paying her much attention, he had paled the moment he noticed Ginny's eyes on him.

"But, as unfortunate as it is, the boy will probably be looked after well enough." Arthur Weasley reasoned, "He's already in with the wrong sort, consorting with Malfoys, and from what Ron's told us, already dabbling in dark magic." he shook his head and Mrs Weasley tutted from where she was standing by the sink. Ginny slammed her cutlery down with a crash,

"Harry is not ' _dabbling in dark magic_ '!" She snapped, eyes flashing, "He saved my life, or have you forgotten?" Mr and Mrs Weasley exchanged a _look_ , before Ginny's mother spoke in a placating tone,

"Ginevra dear, no one meant to say that your friend was a _bad_ person, he's young, he's in with a bad crowd, I'm sure he's a good boy at heart." Ginny slumped in her seat, unsure whether these words should satisfy her or not, her mother continued, "Imagine… losing your parents at so _young_. Poor dear…" Ginny picked up her knife and fork again as her mother drifted away in her lament for the 'poor Potter boy'. Ron looked vaguely queasy at the turn of conversation, and Ginny tried to roll her eyes good humoredly at him across the table but, if anything, this made her brother look sicker, and his eyes darted away from her. A sick feeling settled in her gut, relations between her and her youngest brother had been awful since it was revealed that she could speak to serpents. Though prior to that, things had been tense, but they had reached a new level recently.

Thinking about her brother made her stomach churn and Ginny placed her cutlery down for the second time that evening,

"I don't feel well, I'm going to go lie down." she excused herself. Her legs felt hollow as she climbed the stairs, and she tumbled into bed without bothering to change her clothes, sleep consumed her instantly.

When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in her bed. The sky above her was grey and swirled, she looked around and noted that the grass she stood on was also grey, in fact everything was grey. She was standing in the middle of a colourless field, but it was far from lifeless. The place was beautiful, flowers grew larger then she had ever seen, and a stream bubbled between two small hills, a frog sat perched upon a stone, a lonely island in the fast moving water. The whole place was silent.

"Hello?" Ginny called, stepping forwards. her feet made no sound on the grass, but her voice rang out loudly, it seemed to echo. As beautiful as it was, the whole place was lonely. Ginny sat down, pulling her legs to her chest as she gazed around. Though the place was unfamiliar, she felt no panic or worry, a small distant part of her mind reassuring her that it was just a dream. She sat there for what felt like a long time, though it could have been hours or minutes or even seconds, before a second voice rang out,

"Hello?" Ginny stumbled to her feet, the voice was close and something in her chest was pushing herself to find it. Her breaths were shallow though she had barely moved, and her legs were leaden.

A figure came around into her line of vision, he was black and white, but she would recognise him anywhere.

"Harry?" she asked, his eyes snapped to hers, his _green_ eyes, and suddenly, it was like a switch had been flicked. The grey landscape lit up. The grass was green and lush, and the flowers were a rainbow of colours. Even sound was present, the sound of running water, the ribbit of the lone frog, there was even wind.

Harry glanced around in surprise, unknowingly copying her actions.

"Woah…" he murmured, before returning his attention to her, "Hey Ginny, what are you doing in my dream?" Ginny rolled her eyes,

"You're in my dream, stupid." she corrected, Harry furrowed his brow before shrugging,

"Oh, alright then." he gestured to the stream, "Do you want to follow it?" he asked, Ginny shrugged, she didn't normally have this much choice in the path that her dreams took, it was disconcerting,

"Ok." she replied, quietly acknowledging that this was the weirdest dream that she had ever had, Harry offered her his arm politely, and she took it with smile.

"How's your summer been so far?" Harry asked, Ginny frowned,

"Alright, I guess, Ron's scared of me, he believes that I opened the chamber intentionally and I'm out to get him." she complained, Harry nodded sympathetically and she asked, "What about you?"

"It's been awful, but things are looking up now I've moving in with Sirius." Harry said with a grin, "He painted twelve rooms multiple colours because he didn't know what my favourite colour was and he wanted me to pick from a selection." Ginny laughed, and Harry's eyes flashed with amusement,

"I'll have to write to you and find out how you're actually doing." Ginny said, "the real you, that is, not dream you." Harry blinked, eyes wide behind his glasses, before he nodded with a smile,

"I'd like that." he informed her. Ginny rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, when suddenly, she was ripped away by a bright flash of light and what felt like a gust of wind. Ginny sat up in bed with a gasp, her alarm clock beeped cheerfully, and she glared at it. It was barely eight in the morning, but she didn't feel knew she couldn't fall asleep again. She stumbled from bed, bleary eyed. She _might as well_ write a letter to Harry, she decided, the worst he could do was ignore it.

Unbeknownst to the youngest Weasley, Harry Potter awoke in a very similar state. He glanced at his watch and groaned at the unusually early time,

"Weird dream…" he mumbled, before shutting his eyes and drifting off once more.

* * *

 **Haha! A new update! I hope you guys liked this! Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I love them so much and they have been so nice and encouraging...**

 **Please, please leave me more reviews!**

 **Thanks for reading**


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter 16**

 _Dear Harry_

 _How are you? I hope that you are having a nice Summer and are enjoying your time with Mr Black (it's all over the daily prophet). I don't mean to be too forward in writing this letter, I just wanted to thank you for everything this past year, you've saved my life and helped me so much._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Ginny._

* * *

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _There's no need to thank me! I am glad to have you as a friend and fellow Slytherin. My summer since staying with Sirius has been amazing, thanks! What about yourself?_

 _Best wishes,_

 _Harry._

 _P.S. Greta sends her regards_

* * *

 _Dear Harry_

 _My summer has been okay, I know that you don't get along well with my brother Ronald, and at the moment, neither do I. He continues to believe that I intentionally set the Basilisk on him, and wont stay in the same room as me without an adult. My brothers, Fred and George, are worshipping me though. They try and use the 'heir of Slytherin' card to jump queues and drop threats (with some success), which is pretty cool!_

 _Best Wishes,_

 _Ginny._

 _P.S. tell Greta I said hi._

* * *

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I don't know your twin brothers very well, though I could say I'm acquainted with them through pranks! They would probably get along with Sirius, he pranks me all the time too! Did I tell you? When I first moved in, Sirius wasn't sure which colour I liked, so he painted all the rooms different colours and let me pick. I obviously chose green, I'm a true Slytherin, after all._

 _Best Wishes,_

 _Harry._

* * *

Ginny stared at Harry's latest letter with wide eyes. The words seemed to blur on the page, and in her mind, she could hear Harry speaking them. Not real Harry, that is, dream Harry. Since the night of the first dream, she would often, at least every second night, appear in the beautiful field. Sometimes Harry was there waiting for her, and would smile delightedly as colours bloomed before them once they were in each other's presence. The two would amble along, talking about home life and school life and everything else under the sun. The next morning, Ginny would always wake reluctantly, desperately trying to spend a few moments longer in the presence of Harry, even if it was just a dream version.

But that letter. Those words. She knew Harry had said them before, in the very first dream. There was no coincidence there. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, and the corner of the letter scrunched as her hand fisted anxiously. It had to be nothing, it _had_ to be. People didn't just share dreams.

Nonetheless, that night, Ginny shut her eyes and fell asleep with a new purpose.

"So, I thought you were just a dream." she said to dream-Harry as they sat by the stream, the boy shrugged,

"I think you might be the dream." he responded, eyes twinkling as he threw a wink at her, she snorted,

"Ok, if you're so real, when you write a letter to me tomorrow, say, oh, I don't know, something I'll recognise" she said, Harry's brow furrowed,

"Like what?" he asked, Ginny shrugged,

"Something about Greta maybe?" she thought for a moment, "Just say, Greta went on a trampoline."

"Why?" he asked, clearly perplexed,

"Because if you do it, then I'll know your real." she tried to explain,

"But, if that makes me real, then you're the not real one and real Ginny will think I'm weird." Harry said.

"No, I'll just think that you put Greta on a trampoline." Ginny argued, "Besides, I am real, I'm pretty sure you're the not-real one." Harry frowned, before shrugging.

"If you say so…" he said dubiously, "How are things going with your brother, by the way?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to catch her expression. Ginny shoved her hand into the cold water roughly and scowled,

"He's still afraid of me. It's my fault, if I'd just kept my mouth shut in front of the snake then-"

"Then it would have bitten him." Harry cut her off, "At least he came out uninjured. You did the right thing." a hover-fly skimmed the water, trailing the barest of ripples in it's surface, Ginny focused all of her attention on that. Harry was right, but it still stung to see her brother flinch away from her. "Hey, if I turn out to be real, then what's your response to me going to be?" Harry asked suddenly, Ginny shrugged,

"I don't know, I thought of your one, you suggest something." she said. It didn't really matter anyways, dream-Harry couldn't be real, and the previous conversation had sapped what energy she had to discuss it. Harry grinned,

"Okay, how about, Harry is the greatest." Ginny glanced at him, arching an eyebrow,

"No."

"Harry rocks?" he suggested, before puffing out his chest, "Harry _is_ a rock?"

"No and no." Ginny responded, a small smirk twisting at her lips, "I'll just say that I know you and dream-Harry are the same person. You clearly can't think up anything on your own." Harry laughed, splashing water at her.

Ginny woke up with a smile on her face.

* * *

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _Greta went on a trampoline. It was awesome._

 _Best wishes_

 _Harry._

* * *

Ginny read the letter, then she made herself a tea. Then, Ginny read the letter again, and sat down with a thud as all of the strength left her muscles, before taking another sip of tea, and reading the letter for a third time. Her world seemed to be spinning, and she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't still asleep.

Then, Ginny stood up, and wrote a letter.

 _Dear Harry_

 _How in the name of Merlin did you end up in my dreams. What does this mean?_

 _Ginny._

* * *

Harry was at breakfast when Errol, the Weasley owl crashed through the window. Sirius lifted his glass of juice with a practised ease as the bird skidded across the table top, wings flailing. Harry rolled his eyes as he caught the bird and untied the letter from the his leg, feeding it a rasher of bacon absentmindedly as he did so.

"So, how's your lady-friend?" asked Sirius, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Harry as he did so. The man had made jokes every time a letter arrived from any of his female friends, much to the young boy's annoyance, but he paid extra attention to Ginny's letters, laughing as he muttered to himself, " _Potters and redheads"_ which Harry didn't really understand but scowled at anyway.

As his dark eyes scanned the letter, Harry's face went slack momentarily, paling slightly.

"What's wrong kiddo?" asked Sirius, leaning forwards anxiously, Harry shook his head,

"She's… She's the girl of my dreams!" he exclaimed, standing up suddenly, breakfast forgotten. Sirius blinked, surprised,

"His father didn't realise Lily was his until fifth year…" he muttered to himself, watching perplexed as Harry ran up to his room, presumably to write a letter to the Weasley girl.

* * *

Dreaming that night was different. Harry and Ginny, who had been sitting shoulder to shoulder a mere day previously, stood several feet apart staring at each other in abstract fascination.

"So… Neither of us are figments of the other's imagination." Harry said slowly, Ginny nodded.

"I don't understand how this happened." she said, brow furrowed, "But I can't tell my parents, they'll freak out! Say it's dark magic or something." Harry frowned in understanding,

"It's not exactly hurting either of us, we could just- I dunno'- keep it secret." he said, Ginny nodded.

"It's kind of cool, in a weird way." she said, smile beginning to form, Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, if either of us is in danger, we could just fall asleep and tell the other person where we are!" Ginny snorted,

"After the Chamber of Secrets I want to stay well away from danger." Harry nodded in agreement at this statement.

"I know, it was just a hypothetical, you never know." he said, Ginny stepped closer, nudging him with her shoulder. She couldn't quite escape the dream-like quality of their location, it still didn't feel real.

"Lets go sit by the stream." she said, Harry nodded with a grin, and the two ambled deeper into their dream-world, quickly slipping into the playful banter that they had become used to through the nights.

Both children awoke the next morning smiling.

* * *

 **Hi! Sorry it took so long to update, I've been really busy, but hopefully my updates will be more frequent from now on! Please read and review**

 **I've been reading** **Senseless Apprentice** **by Vladimir Nabokov, It's awesome you guys should check it out, it's a really good Slytherin-fic!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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